Richland Community College & ABBOTT EMS Team Up to Fight EMT Shortage

Richland Community College & ABBOTT EMS Team Up to Fight EMT Shortage

Richland Community College (RCC) is partnering with ABBOTT EMS – the new ambulance service provider in Decatur – to create an Earn While You Learn course for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).

This 8-week course is tentatively scheduled to start on January 9th. The goal is to remove the barrier of entry for people interested in becoming EMTs and build a network of healthcare workers. People interested in the program can apply, and ABBOTT EMS will conduct interviews. Five to seven individuals will be hired, and they will be taught by Richland faculty in RCC’s EMS lab while earning a paycheck. Afterwards, they will be offered a position as an EMT.

Trevor Smith, EMS Program Director at Richland Community College, said, “Richland Community College is proud to partner with Abbott EMS to fill this vital need in our community. We look forward to this opportunity to introduce these students to the field of Emergency Medical Services.”

“We’ve trained and added 2,000 EMTs across the country,” said Brian Gerth, Regional Director at ABBOTT EMS. “It’s a great model. We want to keep on creating more EMTs so they can go on to the medical field and further if they would like.”

About Richland Community College Richland Community College has proudly and successfully served the citizens of district 537 through a strong mix of workforce, technical and transfer education for the past 50 years. Our dedicated staff provides diverse and meaningful support services to make every student’s experience both personal and rewarding. (www.richland.edu)