BROKEN BOW – For those looking to answer their community’s calls for help, an information session on an upcoming EMS certification class will be held at Mid-Plains Community College’s Broken Bow campus this Monday, August 7 at 7 p.m.
The information session is free and open to the public; Broken Bow EMS’ Kelvin Kreitman, a graduate of the program himself, says the experience is invaluable for those looking to take their first responding game a little more seriously.
“It’s a great class, you’re going to learn a lot and challenge yourself mentally. There’s a lot of bookwork to it, and an online portion as well.”
The class itself is two semesters, and provided through Mid-Plains Community College’s close-to-home Broken Bow campus; while on its surface it may seem like a daunting academic time commitment, Kreitman says that half of the learning won’t be in a classroom.
“After the first semester, then you can start running with ambulances. The school has contracts with different places like Grand Island Fire, North Platte Fire, and other places so you can get experience as a student. You can get the skills and learn about what actually goes on in the field.”
The course becomes all the more approachable, Krietman explains, when taking into account its prerequisites.
“You don’t have to have any prior knowledge of the medical field. It starts with the absolute basics, and works its way up.”
Broken Bow residents who end up joining the ambulance service could have the cost of their class reimbursed by the city, though those joining other county EMS divisions, Kreitman says, won’t be without a bit of help themselves.
“The state does reimburse you for the class, so if you did pay out of pocket, once you’ve got your license, you can submit to the state, and the class might only end up costing you a couple hundred bucks.”
Upon successful completion of the weekly course, which does include a standardized competency exam, graduates will become a part of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, as well as officially licensed in the State of Nebraska.
Kreitman says that becoming a part of the registry opens countless doors for those passionate about serving their communities through EMS, regardless of where they wind up.
“It’s a clearing house for EMTs and paramedics to ensure they all have the same, basic knowledge. So if you want to go out of state, you can practice as long as you’re nationally registered, and almost every state uses the registry as the measuring stick for competency in EMTs.”
The first step toward that certification, however, is Monday’s information session. Questions can be directed to Kreitman by phone at (308) 629-7834 or Broken Bow EMS Director Andy Holland at (308) 872-1253, or simply by showing up at MPCC’s Broken Bow campus Monday evening.
