More EMTs greatly needed; Local class starting in January

All area Emergency Medical Services in need of additional EMTs to meet growing demand

The number of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in this area has dwindled over the years as licensed EMTs have retired. Allamakee and northern Clayton Counties are fortunate to have many emergency response services, but all of them are in need of more EMTs on their service to share the call time, ensuring local emergency services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) will be offering a face-to-face EMT Class in Waukon beginning in January. Enthusiastic, willing volunteers wanting to truly help people are needed to fill this class.   The class will meet two nights per week, Mondays and Wednesdays, from 6-10 p.m., and clinicals will be held in person.

Students who successfully complete this class and the certification examination will be able to volunteer on their own community’s ambulance service or rescue squad, as well as be prepared for careers in emergency services.

Seven ambulance services regularly bring patients to the Emergency Room (ER) at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, including Harpers Ferry, Lansing, Monona, New Albin, Postville, Waterville, and Waukon.

“Our volumes are increasing month over month, so the demand for more staff is even greater,” states Jacob Dougherty, Paramedic, VMH Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Manager.  “We really hope people will take advantage of this class locally right here since it is so much more convenient.  We have a need for more EMS staff right now than we have ever historically rostered due to increased volumes, showing a 15% growth from year to year.”

Following are statistics shared by Dougherty from the VMH Ambulance Service:
• Fiscal year 2023 ended with a total of 942 requests for service.
• The busiest month on record for VMH EMS was 103 requests for service in May 2023
• September 2023 ended with 25% more volume over September 2022
• VMH currently completes an average of 86 requests for service per month with an average of 19 being transfers to a larger medical facility.
• VMH utilizes three ambulances. On average, the occurrence of having more than one VMH ambulance active on additional calls happens more than 10 times per month.
• On average, two times per month VMH has all three of its ambulances active on calls at a given time.
• On average, 29 times a month area EMS services need to seek out a second crew to ensure seamless coverage of the ambulance districts.

Spots are still available for the face-to-face NICC EMT Class in Waukon beginning in January. This class is not offered locally each year, so the fact it will be held in Waukon is a convenience. This 138-hour course will conclude in May. Registration for the class must be completed prior to the orientation night scheduled for January 8.

For more information, contact Jacob Dougherty, Paramedic, EMS Manager, or Cheryl Livingston, Paramedic, Class Instructor, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411. Registration information can also be found by scanning the accompanying QR code or online at https://nicc.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&in...