GREENSBORO, N.C. — A sign of hope for an industry facing staffing shortages.
Guilford County held a graduation Friday for its first-ever EMT launch pad program.
Prior to training, none of the seven graduates had prior emergency medical experience.
"This was a fantastic experience for me to know that we have selected people from the street who have had no EMS education whatsoever and we brought them into our organization. Now, they are going to be fully functional on our ambulances," said Guilford County EMS Training Manager Jan Paladino.
The EMT graduates told News 2 that the road to becoming an EMT was basically their life for the last four months.
They participated in 450 class hours and took 50 tests. The class consisted of learning EMT skills through training scenarios, cardiology, CPR, and how to drive an ambulance.
Nathan Acain is one of the seven graduates. He said he is excited to apply all of the skills he's learned. His reason for joining the EMT class stems from his father who had a heart attack seven years ago.
"I was doing CPR on him and I had a basic knowledge of CPR. It wasn’t quality CPR that I know now. It probably would’ve been better if I had known at the time and now that I know now I can help other people prevent that sort of same tragedy," said Acain.
Beth Harris is another graduate. She said she appreciates the effort the EMS administration put in to prepare them for the new role.
Her reason for joining was that she wanted a career change and figured saving lives was the right choice.
"I am excited I was behind a desk and I tried that a couple of times and it’s just not where I want to be so I like being out and about and this is a great way to do that and to help serve in a public safety manner," said Harris.
The EMT graduates have all been assigned to their shifts and will begin running calls Saturday.
The next class starts September 12 and people can begin applying.