Paramedic career paths offer lucrative opportunity

ELIZABETHTOWN | Historically, running ambulance calls has been considered more hobby than vocation, a cog in the network of volunteer first responders that has served much of the nation since its inception. But as volunteers have become harder to find and training requirements have grown more complex, paid paramedics will be in increasing demand, making it an attractive career choice, said Bruce Barry, paramedic program director for Elizabethtown Community Hospital. The hospital has been running the program since 2018 and typically places all of its graduates. In fact, the problem is not finding jobs, it's finding enough people to fill those jobs. The hospital is now recruiting participants for its next round of training — the region's first New York State Department of Health accredited program — which will begin on July 22. The deadline for applying is March 1. Participants must have achieved EMT status to enroll. "The ones coming out of the program are already spoken for," Barry said. The current class has 19 students, but there is still plenty of catching up to do. A needs assessment in 2015 determined that the North Country potentially had 100 positions open in a field where the turnover rate is five to seven years. "Predominantly, these had been volunteer positions by people who did it out of the goodness of their heart," Barry said. "Now it's becoming more of a career." Essex County is in something of a transition stage between volunteers and paid staff, a move seeded by a state grant. But even with paid positions open, it hasn't been easy finding people interested in applying. Bryse Taylor, Essex County EMS Coordinator, said four of the county's 11 paramedic positions are unfilled, which has hurt its ability to staff rapid-response vehicles that are part of the initiative. Part of the challenge in recruiting new blood is changing the perception of the position. "For a long time this wasn't seen as a profession," Taylor said. "It was high stress and low pay." But with salaries topping $50,000 a year and, in the county's program, shared health care and full state retirement benefits, a paramedic is a job to build a career around, he said. Barry said the 18-month Elizabethtown paramedic program has attracted a broad demographic, with students ranging from age 20 to 63. "The younger excel at technology, but the older people tend to have more life experience" which is useful in dealing with a wide cross-section of patients. Pay ranges from about $23 to $28 an hour, and paramedics have the satisfaction of knowing they are helping their communities. "When people call 911, they want to know someone is coming to help, and they're not coming from three towns away," Barry said. Paramedic certification is the highest level of pre-hospital care certification. While EMTs and paramedics are both highly-trained healthcare professionals who respond to medical emergencies in the pre-hospital setting, paramedics build on their EMT training to develop more advanced skills such as administering medications, starting intravenous (IV) lines, providing advanced airway management and learning to resuscitate and support patients with life-threatening problems such as heart attacks and traumatic injuries. Tuition and fees for the 2022 program is $6000 and scholarships are available. To learn more about the program, visit www.ech.org or call 518-873-3022.

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Paramedic career paths offer lucrative opportunity

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