EDGEWOOD, Ky. — First responders in northern Kentucky said they’re facing a critical worker shortage in the region, leaving some communities vulnerable.

A new partnership between the city of Florence, Gateway Community and Technical College and St. Elizabeth Healthcare aims to address this by training up the next generation of paramedics.

Many fire departments across northern Kentucky encourage their firefighters to become paramedics. Brian Evans, who’s been at the Union Fire Department for about a year, didn’t need any encouragement.

“I wanted to be at the top of my field, so I’m studying to become a paramedic,” Evans said.

He’s able to do so through the Gateway Community and Technical College paramedic program.

“Just the challenges we might face, the amount of knowledge you have to pack in to be ready for any situation," he said as he reflected on his key takeaways so far. 

The program recently expanded through a partnership with St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Florence Fire and EMS. Mike Harris, Gateway and St. Elizabeth EMS education manager, said the program is now up to three cohorts a year, pumping 75 new paramedics a year into a workforce that needs them.

Training takes 11 months to complete. 

“The workforce shortages in this region are fairly significant," Harris said. "And once you get out of the urban cores, the situation is even way different. There are maybe multiple counties that have one paramedic that services that region, and when that paramedic’s off, they have no paramedics." 

Florence Fire and EMS wanted to have a satellite paramedic program and is converting one of its firehouses to a training facility as part of the partnership. Danielle Stiner, EMS battalion chief, said the department wants to be part of the solution.

“Eighty percent of our run volume everyday is EMS related," Stiner said. "Not so much the fires everybody sees on TV. It’s the other calls, the medical calls. So it’s really important to have your crews be able to respond to those runs on an everyday basis."

“We don’t have the luxury of being inside that hospital with all of the bells and whistles and equipment right there, so we have to be ready as kind of a mock-moving ambulance and hospital system to take care of anything we come across.”

Calls can range from a simple fall to a cardiac arrest.

“If they go into some of those really underserved areas, they might be that right seat paramedic on day one, so that’s what we have to prepare them for.”“We have to make sure they’ve got the knowledge in their heads, the didactic knowledge, and we also have to make sure they’ve got the hands-on skills to be able to competently perform those in the field,” Harris said. “If they go into some of those really underserved areas, they might be that right seat paramedic on day one, so that’s what we have to prepare them for.”

He said it’s an adrenaline-filled job that needs a dedicated person. 

“Oftentimes our students, when they’re taking care of patients, they will see an immediate improvement in the patients," Harris said. "But we have to accept the reality that sometimes patients do take a turn, and we just have to be prepared for that and think two or three steps ahead." 

It could be helping to deliver a baby. Mikayla Mann, who's volunteering for the Verona Fire Department, said she's developing the skills to be ready for any situation as a full-time paramedic. 

“A lot of people don’t like to treat pediatrics; it's kind of scary," Mann said. "I think the more you train for it, the better you’re prepared for it."

"Going out there and serving your community is very important. It’s a calling to go help people.”

Harris said when students finish the program, their phones usually start ringing right away with job offers. More information about the program can be found by emailing gw-healthprofessions@kctcs.edu.