By Douglass Dowty
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)
Copyright 2006 Post-Standard
The Oswego Fire Department is now certified by the state to train critical care emergency medical technicians, said city Deputy Fire Chief Mark McManus.
Upcoming courses will be open to the public, although there may be a screening process depending on the number of applicants seeking to take classes with room for 20 to 24 students, officials said.
Tuition for the courses is $775 for basic training and $1,300 for critical care, but the state may reimburse participants if they are affiliated with an approved emergency team.
“This course sponsorship program is a win-win situation for both the Oswego Fire Department and for the city of Oswego,” said fire Chief Ed Geers.
For the past eight years, city firefighters have needed critical care training to be hired, according to a news release. Now, three years after the department started seeking state approval, the department can train its own EMTs and other qualified applicants.
Before now, certification courses were held infrequently through the county Health Department, McManus said.
Curriculum for both courses includes hours in the classroom and hospital emergency rooms and often time on the road in an ambulance, McManus said.
The basic course covers instruction in first aid, splints, oxygen and extracting victims from vehicles, while the critical care course builds on the instruction with lessons in medications, IVs and manual defibrillators.