PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac ambulance company launched a new Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) training program that it hopes will open doors for city residents and create new pathways into healthcare careers.
Star EMS, based in Pontiac, kicked off the three-week program this week.
The 88-hour course is designed as an entry-level introduction to the medical field and trains participants to become certified EMRs.
Twelve people are enrolled in the cohort, where they receive hands-on training in taking vital signs, providing basic patient care, and safely operating an emergency vehicle.
Program organizers said an EMR is someone who essentially helps EMT’s on a scene.
“It’s always just been my passion to help people, and I figured the opportunity was here; why not,” said Ebonee Parker, who is taking the course.
Program organizers say the initiative is meant to benefit both residents and the broader healthcare system.
“This is a huge benefit for Pontiac because what it does is it opens up career opportunities for Pontiac residents,” said Charles Hughes, director of operations for Star EMS.
Hughes said the program can help fill open positions while also strengthening relationships between first responders and the people they serve.
“Who better to take care of residents than residents themselves?” Hughes said. “We find all too often there’s a lack of trust in the EMS world from the patient because they may not necessarily recognize or relate to those professionals that are coming to offer them care.”
Parker hopes to help change that once she completes the course, takes the test to earn her license, and officially enters the field.
She also sees the EMR credential as just the beginning.
“I think that’s my first hurdle and then I can go further,” Parker said. Adding another goal she has is to become a paramedic like her stepfather.
Pontiac City Council member Chris Jackson issued a statement supporting the program, saying:
The work that Star EMS is doing helps with Pontiac’s mission to solve the Public Health Crisis our community faces and provides career pathways in the healthcare industry that will be a top employer in our city (and the State of Michigan) for years to come.
The Pontiac Health District coalition will continue to push these initiatives and support similar programming.
Chris Jackson, Pontiac City Council Member