The Hopkinsville Fire Department’s accredited Paramedic Program had nearly 100 graduates in January, and Deputy Chief of EMS Operations Phillip Ferguson spotlighted the program’s impact at Tuesday’s Hopkinsville Rotary Club meeting.
Paramedic shortages are occurring across Kentucky, and Ferguson says the department has been working to avoid becoming a part of that trend. Ferguson says the department is now one of four government agencies in the state that are accredited to teach paramedics.
After seeing that Kentucky’s paramedic numbers were declining, Ferguson says they partnered with emergency medical service agencies across the state to train more paramedics in Hopkinsville. Along with training Kentuckians, Ferguson says the program has had participants from Tennessee and West Virginia.
Ferguson says they are glad to help agencies find paramedics. He says there are some counties across the state that only have EMTs on their ambulances who can provide basic life support care, while paramedics undergo more training and can provide a higher level of care.
The next Paramedic Program class will start in August, and Ferguson says he already has over 100 applicants.