Students preparing for paramedic jobs at a local Texas school are getting some help to purchase the training equipment they need.
The Texas Comptroller’s Office recently announced that it will award a $313,000 grant to Weatherford College’s Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic program. The funding will be used to purchase equipment.
The funding will come from the Jobs and Education for Texas grant program, which was designed to support high-demand career and technical education programs in Texas public community colleges.
“This grant brings us cutting-edge equipment that will increase the skill level of our EMT, paramedic and firefighting students,” Kay Young, dean of workforce and economic development for Weatherford College, said. “It will also allow us to expand emergency services training into the rural areas within Parker, Palo Pinto, Wise and Jack counties.”
The college plans to use the funding to purchase myriad advancement equipment, including a “SimMan” computerized manikin-like patient simulator, a rescue trailer with the latest in emergency equipment, an EKG monitor, virtual I.V. system, and other items for training purposes.
Weatherford officials expect at least 1,600 trainees to use the new equipment throughout the region during the next three years. As a result, more than 384 associate degree students will potentially graduate during that same time.
The college’s EMT and paramedic program trains students to respond to everything from minor injuries to large-scale cataclysmic events. The program was recently upgraded, with five previously-existing degree programs being combined into one degree plan.
This new Emergency Medical Service Professional degree has already been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This degree title will play an important part in many students’ futures, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the EMT field will grow by 19 percent throughout the nation during the next six years.
“The development process for a grant like this is always a team effort,” Dr. Shirley Chenault, director of resource development for Weatherford College, said. “This was a wonderful collaboration between several areas of the College, including Workforce Education, EMT, Public Safety, Resource Development and others.”
The Weatherford Fire Department and EMS officials from Parker County/LifeCare, Wise County, Hood County and MedStar also helped with the college’s development of the grant proposal.