First class of paramedics working way through Northern

Students enrolled in Montana State University-Northern's new emergency medical service program since last fall are on their way to becoming certified paramedics.

"We'll have more skills and a much more in-depth look at disease process," Tyler Thompson, an EMT with the Havre Fire Department and a student, said Wednesday of last week.

D.J. Olson and Chance Ophus are also part of Havre's fire department and enrolled in the program, as well as Charlie Rivera and Frankie Hernandez,  who work with EMS at Indian Health Service at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Instructor Mark Benjamin said that once they finish their training, the men will be the highest-trained care providers possible for someone in their field.

The program was launched last fall thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's grant program known as TAACCCT4, Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training, a $450 million initiative and the fourth round of federal investments meant to help community colleges expand their training capabilities.

"It's been a great class. We learned a lot, and I'm excited to start using our new skills," Thompson said.

The nice thing about working on the ambulance, Thompson said, is being able to see the learning progression.

"I just learned heart rhythms. ... When we're EMTs and you're not able to interpret EKGs, then you just print a strip," he said. "And you hand it to the hospital and you hand over your patient. And you find a nurse, or maybe a doctor and you ask what they see ... and you may or may not be able to understand what they're saying.

But now, Thompson said, he's got a deeper understanding.

"Now you print a strip with somebody and you look over on the monitor and you can say, 'Hey, I recognize what's going on. There's a problem here. Here's what's going on here.' And a nice thing, too, is you can walk into the hospital and you can show the nurses and the doctors that you have competency with all this stuff," he said.

His knowledge can very well expedite the process and get the patient the necessary emergency procedure needed quicker, Thompson said.

Rivera and Hernandez said IHS has already promised the two of them will be able to utilize their advanced life support, or ALS, accreditation as fresh paramedics. Like the other three, they only have to finish this semester, which just started, do their internships this summer, and they'll be ready to go.

"For us it's like a necessary thing. It's 45 minutes from one end of the reservation to the other," Rivera said. "So if we have somebody in cardiac arrest we can actually do something for them as opposed to just doing CPR. We can give them cardiac drugs and some things that might give them a little better chance at survival."

"There are five people on the EMS department in Fort Belknap. That's why the two of us are taking this class, so we can have a paramedic shift and provide care for all the rez," Hernandez said.

Havre's ambulance service, which is categorized as basic life support, does not, as of now, have any concrete plans to upgrade.

City officials and the fire department had not come to terms, mostly for financial reasons, by June to upgrade to an ALS ambulance service. Mel Paulson, who took over as the fire department chief at the beginning of this year, said this morning that nothing has changed. He said there are still no concrete plans to upgrade, and there would have to be talks between the and city officials before any serious plans can be formed.

It will be a year away, at least, before the fire department tries to upgrade, he said.

An ALS certified ambulance service would include advanced cardiac life support and allow Havre paramedics to transport patients experiencing cardiac issues, as well as other more serious injuries or conditions. The point of an ALS-trained crew is to be able to treat patients in case there is trouble en route to the hospital.

The high costs of airlifts to hospitals throughout the state has been discussed among hospital officials and insurance companies and legislators often during the last year.

Having an ALS-trained crew who could transport patients to Great Falls' Benefis may very well save time and money for patients, Dr. Douglas Waldo, interventional cardiologist at Benefis and chairman of the project report "Mission Lifeline: Montana," has said. Waldo had advocated for an upgrade to Havre's EMS.

Olson said he hopes to implement his newly-acquired paramedic skills with the Havre Fire Department but knows it's out of his control.

"I feel we're doing everything in our power to bring the highest level of care to the city. Hopefully, the fire department will get on board as well as our medical control and they'll allow us to use our skills. But that's kind of out of our hands," Olson said.

"It's going to be hard to maintain accreditation if you're not going to be able to use your skills," Thompson said.

Olson and Thompson said working at a different fire department, one that would allow them to use their paramedic training, wouldn't be out of the question.

But for now, the men are going to worry about finishing their training, which they all took student loans to attend, Benjamin said, and see what happens and worry about the future in the future.

As for others seeking EMT or paramedic training, people interested can contact Benjamin at Northern for details.