By Kimberly Vetter
The Advocate
Copyright 2007 Capital City Press
All Rights Reserved
Mayor-President Kip Holden on Tuesday welcomed the 47 cadets now training in emergency medical services - marking the biggest class ever for East Baton Rouge Parish EMS.
“Are you ready?” Holden asked the cadets during their second day of class.
“Yes, sir!” they replied in unison.
“Are you ready?” Holden asked twice more, satisfied only when the sound of the cadets’ answer filled the auditorium at the Louisiana State Police headquarters on Independence Boulevard.
Typically, the classes are half the size and are taught at EMS headquarters on Mayflower Street.
EMS Administrator Pam Porter said she wanted a large class to address the agency’s staffing needs and the community’s demands.
A lot of resources go into the 13-month academy, she said. “We might as well train more people at once instead of holding more academies.”
In addition, Porter said, calls for service have been up since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That increase isn’t expected to subside much because of the city’s growing population.
“I look forward to seeing all of you stay through the whole class,” Porter told the cadets. “I want to see you all graduate.”
Historically, only about 50 percent of cadets make it through the 13-month academy, said Arthur Lewis, the academy’s training director. Last year, the class started with 28 cadets, he said. Fourteen graduated.
“They have to learn a lot in a short amount of time,” Lewis said. “You really have to be committed.”
Retaining paramedics once they graduate isn’t easy, either.
“This is a stepping stone for many people,” said Tommy Loyacono, EMS chief of operations. “Many paramedics go on to become doctors and nurses.”
Before hurricanes Katrina and Rita, people usually stayed with EMS for five years, he said. Now, there’s no telling how long they will stay.
“There is a huge demand for paramedics as well as other health-care professionals,” Lewis said.
“It’s a very competitive field right now.”
Cadet Eric Chambers said he hopes to fill one of the agency’s 24 openings.
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m confident,” he said. “Being in public service is something I’ve wanted all my life.”
Chambers and his classmates will spend much of the next year at the State Police headquarters instead of EMS’s Mayflower Street headquarters.
The 14-year-old trailer on Mayflower Street only accommodates 25 people, EMS spokesman Mike Chustz said.
Porter said there are plans to build a headquarters - which will include more classroom space - on Harding Boulevard near Baton Rouge Fire Department headquarters and the parish’s Emergency Operations Center.
Those plans should be complete by the end of the year and construction should begin early next year, she said. In the meantime, EMS will pay State Police $5,500 a month for 13 months to use the State Police facilities.
Lt. Col. Dale Hall with the State Police said the agency is glad to have the class.
“We are part of the first-responder family,” he said. “There is no way we could make it out there without their assistance.”