New EMR training for Oktibbeha Volunteer Firefighters

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Volunteer Firefighters do a lot for our community without asking for much in return.

A new partnership between EMCC and a local hospital is looking to change that.

They announced a new partnership to provide volunteer fire departments with a chance to get Emergency Technician Certified in the comfort of their hometown.

In an emergency situation, seconds count.

Having the men and women who respond to a crisis extensively trained could make all the difference.

“It’s important to get a quicker response with first responders that are trained. Advanced life support is important but advanced life support really comes 10 or 15 minutes after, you know, the patient has their episode so the quicker that we can get someone there that can start the basic life support the better chances we have of saving someone,” said Michael Hunt.

A partnership between OCH Regional Medical Center and East Mississippi Community College will provide classes to volunteer firefighters to enhance their emergency response skills.

“It’s going to teach them basic life support skills such as advanced CPR AED training, how to control bleeding your basic stuff that needs to be done within the first 10 minutes of taking care of any patient,” said Hunt.

And it’s not just the firefighters benefiting from the program.

“Pretty large county. They’ve got a lot of fire districts, and so they need as close to 100% of their folks holding the EMT basic certification. So this is going to be a great way to do that. It’s going to provide folks with the higher level of training for emergency care out in the county and in the communities as they respond,” said Dr. Paul Miller.

While many volunteer firefighters are trained to help during a medical emergency, this particular program will take them to the next level.

“So EMR is emergency medical responder, or EMT is emergency medical technician. The curricula are about 90% the same the difference is the actual transport when they are loaded in the ambulance. That’s not taught in EMR, and so if you want to go work on an ambulance, you can’t use that license. So for us it makes more sense to offer a program that someone can get a job with which makes us more attractive.”

The county will be funding the program, and any refresher courses need after they finish the course.