James Buescher
Intelligencer Journal
Copyright 2007 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
LANCASTER, Penn. — Although Columbia and Marietta’s soaring historical architecture and 19th-century mansions give western Lancaster County a distinctly Victorian feel, those who call the area home don’t have to worry about receiving antiquated medical service. In fact, according to Susquehanna Valley EMS education manager Anthony Martin, area paramedics receive some of the best, state-of-the-art medical training available, thanks to a unique program that gives paramedics instruction on the technological cutting-edge.
“We have a general shortage of paramedics here in Pennsylvania, and despite the high demand, many schools and colleges in our area are cutting their paramedicine programs,” Martin said. “Which, unfortunately, makes our job as EMS emergency providers that much more difficult.”
“It’s very important we make sure the folks in our coverage area receive ... the absolute best care available. That’s why we’ve joined forces with the Reading Hospital Medical Center-Paramedic Training Institute to implement a full-time program.”
The program allows SV-EMS to send EMTs to school full-time for 28 weeks instead of working and attending school simultaneously.
“I don’t know of any other EMS service in the commonwealth other than ourselves that’s doing what we’re doing,” Martin said.
With its education, training and maintenance center based in Columbia Borough, SV-EMS has 133 paid personnel and stations in Mount Joy, Columbia, Rohrerstown, Willow Street, Quarryville, Norlanco Medical Center and Woodcrest Villa retirement community.
Serving 133,000 people over a coverage area of 461 miles, the ambulance company’s service stretches along the Susquehanna River from Marietta to the Maryland state line. In December 2005, Susquehanna Valley EMS merged with Willow Street EMS, adding stations in Willow Street and Quarryville Borough, giving the ambulance company the largest coverage area in Lancaster County.
Beginning in January 2006, SV-EMS began its Paramedic Training Institute in partnership with Reading Hospital. The ambulance company pays to make sure its members attend classes and receive more than 1,400 hours of training.
“There are simulated emergencies making sure that paramedics get hands-on experience with the latest equipment. There are classroom sessions and hospital clinical time, and there’s even a field paramedic internship,” Martin said. “It’s a kind of training that allows students to work with new equipment and learn the latest techniques ... to provide a higher level of care in emergencies. Other ambulance companies say that if paramedics want new training they have to pay for it out of their own pockets, and not every paramedic can afford to go away for a few days - or even weeks - without a paycheck. But we make sure to set money aside so that our paramedics can get this training and still be able to put food on the table for their families.”
Merv Wertz, chief operations officer for SV-EMS, said “high-quality training is important because it enhances the level of care we provide. Paramedics start IVs. They administer medications and perform other lifesaving skills. And to stay up-to-date with those skills, that requires additional training,”
“Luckily,” he said, “SV-EMS can pay for its program with Reading Hospital out of the ambulance service’s general operations budget, a budget that in turn is financed through fees for service, membership drives, government grants and donations. So far, we’ve had eight paramedics in this program, and we expect that we’ll be able to send a total of 10 people through it in 2008.”
Wertz said. “Right now we have 77 EMTS and 45 active paramedics, so there are plenty of folks who qualify for this kind of upgraded training. “It allows for the students to focus on their studies, didactic, clinical and field internships, to ensure our paramedics receive the best education available.”