Campus News
July 10, 2018
Students complete Advanced Life Support (ALS) training at Garrett College
Students from W.Va., Pa., and Md. complete 2-year Paramedic program
Students enrolled in the Garrett College Advanced Life Support (ALS) program recently completed their intensive study for certification. For the past 25 years the college has provided area emergency service personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary for advanced life support in the community. ALS certification offerings are available through Continuing Education & Workforce Development.
These students have just concluded the second year (semesters III and IV) of a two year program to obtain paramedic credentials and are now eligible to sit for national and state testing to start functioning as a paramedic in Maryland.
The ALS curriculum is comprehensive and consists of classroom instruction, labs, skills assessments, hospital clinical training, and a field internship. The program meets both state and national standards for ALS training.
Students enrolled in the program are taught to work in the field as an extension of the emergency room. Individuals who successfully complete the training are also qualified in advanced emergency care through a competency-based educational program.
"The ALS program is designed to educate skilled, well-trained advanced life support providers to the communities of Allegany and Garrett counties," stated Doug Beitzel, ALS program coordinator at Garrett College through the Continuing Education & Workforce Development division.
The program also provides continuing education for licensed and certified providers in an effort to maintain quality care for the community," Beitzel noted.
Garrett’s two-year program prepares the student to provide pre-hospital assessment and care for patients of all ages with a variety of medical conditions and traumatic injuries.
Areas of study include the following: an introduction to emergency medical services systems, roles and responsibilities of paramedics, anatomy and physiology, as well as responding to medical emergencies and trauma. Special considerations for working in the pre-hospital setting are studied in depth as well as skills required for providing patient transportation.
One of the highlights for this year’s paramedic class involved the visitation and tour of two separate cadaver labs. The class traveled to Baltimore where they toured the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma Center.
"The students who just completed this course have been very dedicated over the last two years and invested nearly 1,000 hours in this course," noted Beitzel.
He continued, "Our goal in the Emergency Services Training Center is to better serve and benefit a rural community with limited capital resources, and to supplement emergency medical services."
For more information on the emergency services trainings at Garrett College, including paramedic, contact Beitzel at 301-387-3772 or doug.beitzel@garrettcollege.edu or visit www.garrettcollege.edu.
Rightly proud of their accomplishments, the men and women who are completing their Garrett College trainings in the Advanced Life Support (ALS) program, stand together for this photo. ALS certification trainings are offered through the Continuing Education and Workforce Development division of the college. In the photo from left to right in the front row are: Rocky Keister, Keyser W.Va; Hunter Whetzel, Petersburg, W.Va.; Caleb Willis, Franklin W.Va., James Heward, Frostburg, Chase Troutman, Wellersburg, Pa.; Jeff Cutter, Frostburg. Second row: Charlotte Gray, Westernport; Cherish Harding, Mount Storm, W.Va.; Aaron Blacker, Cumberland; Cody Mohler, Cumberland; Anthony Amtower, Keyser, W.Va.; Robert Overstreet, Cumberland. Standing: David Braithwaite, Keyser, W.Va.; Deric Haines, Keyser, W.Va.; Brooke McCoy, Ridgeley, W.Va.; Jason Robinson, Flintstone; Robert Sines, Grantsville; Zach Culler, Frostburg; Chris Durst, Meyersdale, Pa.
