EMT Training Blog

Interested in FDNY EMS?

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:15:00 -0400

Interested in FDNY EMS? The New York City Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services will be opening up filing for the "Emergency Medical Specialist - EMT" civil service exam next week. The filing period will be 7/7/10 - 7/30/10. This exam is opened very rarely, so if you are interested you should definitely sign up now. More details about the exam and how to apply will be available at the New York City Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services site once the filing period has begun. You can also learn more about the FDNY hiring process on this forum. Not an EMT yet? Learn more about our EMT training program - you can still sign up for an EMT-B training class that starts this summer!

"Be The Beat" Teaches Teens and Tweens CPR/AED Use

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:48:00 -0400

Be the Beat, the American Heart Association's online cardiac arrest awareness campaign, teaches teens the basics of CPR and AED use through video games,interactive quizzes, and songs. Among the resources available on the site are: * A set of instructional videos that illustrate conventional CPR with rescue breathing, Hands-Only CPR and and the use of an AED. * A "virtual tour" through a 3-D animation of the heart. Kids can earn points by playing video games and taking interactive quizzes. * The "World of Hearts", where users create unique avatars, track and compare their scores with others, and view profiles and testimonies of other participants. * A downloadable playlist of 100-beat-per-minute songs (100 beats per minute is the correct rate for chest compressions during CPR). * Free printable stickers, T-shirt decals, stationary, downloadable widgets and wallpapers. "Be the Beat is helping to create the next generation of lifesavers by empowering teens and tweens to act when they see someone suddenly collapse," said Michael Sayre, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. "Sadly, far too many people are dying from cardiac arrest. We want this campaign to inspire people to help save lives." By increasing the number of people who know proper CPR/AED - an giving them the confidence to respond in an emergency - Be the Beat will help to give more cardiac arrest victims a better chance at life. Check it out at Be the Beat. Or, find out more about CPR and AED training.

77 New EMTs Join FDNY EMS

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:00:00 -0400

New York, NY - 77 new Emergency Medical Technicians joined the the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service on January 27, 2010. They were part of the Trainee Program, which involves a 14-week, two-part training program. In the first component of the program, participants earn New York State EMT Certification. Then participants move into the FDNY EMS Academy at Fort Totten, Queens, to learn FDNY policies and procedures. Upon graduation, they are promoted to FDNY Emergency Medical Technician. "Today you are transforming from bystanders into life savers," Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano told the group at graduation. "You have chosen a rewarding job, one that lets you make a difference every day." Chief of EMS John Peruggia added, "I'm proud to be a paramedic. Where else can you go to work and know that you are making a difference in someone's life?" The new EMTs will be assigned to units throughout the city. To learn more about becoming a New York State certified EMT, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/emt_training.html

Founder of Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps Profiled In HealthLeaders Magazine

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Brooklyn, NY -- This month's HealthLeaders magazine includes an interview with EMT James "Rocky" Robinson, founder of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the nation's first minority-run volunteer ambulance corps. BSVAC is the busiest volunteer ambulance service for its size in the nation, answering over 100 calls per month with an average response time of less than 4 minutes. BSVAC has received numerous honors, including: Robin Hood Foundation Hero of the Year Award, New York City Hero Award, American Institute for Public Service Jefferson Award, Points of Light Award (awarded by President George Bush), and Maxwell House Hero Search Award. BSVAC started off in 1988 with two volunteers who responded to emergencies on foot, Robinson told HealthLeaders: "We were an ambulance corps without an ambulance. We didn't have any funding, we were in an abandoned house--but know what we had? We had skills, we had tennis shoes, we had trauma bags, and we had radios. And when we heard that someone in the community was shot or stabbed, we would literally run and get there. Even though we couldn't remove the patient, we could stop the bleeding." BSVAC is also known as "Save a Life Rescue Corps." Learn how to save lives by becoming an EMT - visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/emt_training.html to find out how to sign up for Emergency Care Program's EMT-B training course. Already an EMT-B? To volunteer, call BSVAC at (718) 453-4617.

NEW EMT-B Refresher Class Starting January 2010

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:33:00 -0400

Class Schedule: January 29 - May 20. Class is held on Fridays from 9am to 3:30pm. Course Description: This course is given in the challenge refresher format. Students take an examination early in the course. They are then only required to attend sessions on topics that they demonstrated weaknesses on, in addition to several sessions that are mandatory for all students. Upon successful completion of this course, students will take the New York State EMT-B certification exam to recertify for another 3 years. Prerequisites: New York State EMT Basic Certification. Course Completion: Upon successful completion of this course, students will take the New York State EMT-B certification exam to recertify for 3 years. Course Cost: $495.00 In order to reserve a seat in this course, you must complete a pre-registration form (available at http://www.emergencycareny.com/EMT_refresher.pdf) and mail it to Emergency Care Programs with a $100.00 non-refundable registration fee. Please note that the $100.00 registration fee will be applied to the course tuition. A seat in any course can only be guaranteed if the registration fee is received, all others will be admitted to class on a first come basis, on the first day of class (space permitting). The balance of $395.00 is due the first day of class- 01/29/10. For more information or to enroll in this course, call 718-333-CARE or visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/emt_refresher.html.

Win an AED For Your School!

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:01:00 -0400

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is sponsoring a contest to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of knowing how to perform CPR and use an AED. Groups of students from any elementary school, middle school, secondary school, or college can enter the contest. Each team will write, film, star in and edit a short video promoting the importance of knowing how to do CPR and use an AED. Finalists for all categories will be posted on the SCA Foundation's website and its YouTube Channel and promoted to schools nationwide. Five schools will win an AED; the first place winner will also receive a Nintendo Wii game system in addition to the AED. Entries are due October 26th, 2009. To learn more about the contest, visit http://www.sca-aware.org/schools/back-to-school-video-contest-win-an-aed-for-your-school. To learn more about AED training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/heartbeat.html.

CPR Training Coming Soon to a Wii Near You...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:37:00 -0400

Birmingham, Alabama -- Learn CPR on a video game console? It could happen sooner than you think. Senior biomedical engineering students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have been working to develop a computer program that will teach CPR using the handheld remote controls from the Nintendo Wii video game console. The project uses the Wii remote's wireless technology to teach users proper CPR technique. The program can detect the exact depth and placement of the chest compressions using the remote and offer feedback accordingly. This summer, the American Heart Association pledged $50,000 to fund the students' work. "The Heart Association's high interest in our students' innovations points to potential of this project and how it fits in with its desire to deliver reliable CPR education to the masses," said Jack Rogers, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UAB. The UAB Wii CPR program will become available on the American Heart Association Web site as a free download as soon as it is finished. The UAB team says it could complete its program development by early fall of 2009. For more information about CPR training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/firstaid.html.

Emory University Trains Freshmen in CPR, AED techniques

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:30:00 -0400

Atlanta, Georgia -- This September, for the second consecutive year, freshman orientation at Emory University in Georgia included an unusual offering: CPR training. Last year, Emory's student-run Emergency Medical Services trained more than 700 incoming freshmen in the basics of CPR. This year, they reached about 1,100 students. The school hopes to have every one of its 12,000 students trained in basic lifesaving techniques in the next few years. The hour-long course taught students basic CPR techniques, using dummies donated by the American Heart Association for hands-on practice . Students also learned AED usage techniques and the steps involved in activating an emergency response. "Our goal is to make Emory the first university to have all of its students trained in the basics of CPR. We want to make the student population realize that they can make a difference too, and can learn the minimum skills to save a person's life," said Alexandra Amaducci, chief of Emory EMS and a senior majoring in neuroscience. "We also want to create awareness that we exist and make students feel comfortable about calling on Emory EMS when they need us." The EMS squad gets five or six calls each year for people having heart attacks or other cardiac problems on campus, she said. Health officials and university administrators say having a concentration of students trained in CPR means anyone who has a heart attack while wandering through campus has a greater chance of surviving. Starting CPR just after a heart attack, even before paramedics arrive, can greatly increase the odds of survival. For more information about CPR, First Aid, and BLS courses offered by Emergency Care Programs, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/firstaid.html. For more information on AED training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/heartbeat.html.

AED Saves a Life

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:54:00 -0400

Quincy, IL -- Mere days after an Illinois airport became equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED), airport personnel used the unit to save a life. According to local news sources, TSA officer Lisa Wiewel used the lifesaving device on a man who was found slumped unconscious in his car in the parking lot at Quincy Regional Airport in Illinois. She followed the unit's instructions until EMS arrived. Medical personnel at the local Blessing Hospital said that the man lived because of Wiewel's quick thinking. Dr. Richard Saalborn, who was overseeing the emergency department, said: "They gave two shocks to the patient, was able to regain a heart rhythm and be transported to the hospital in a much more stable conduction than if he would have had to wait 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. I don't think he would have lived had that occurred." Dr. Steven Krause of Blessing Hospital's Cardiac Lab agreed: "Without this device, the chance of a recovery or a successful outcome would've been significantly diminished," he said. For more information on AEDs and AED training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/defibrillator.html and http://www.emergencycareny.com/heartbeat.html.