Anderson Oconee Pickens

North East Rescue Squad of Abbeville County
Donates Ambulance to Tri-County Technical College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2/16/2005
CONTACT: JANELLE HICKS, 646-1724
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON ---They're often the first on the scene of an accident to administer medical procedures to the critically injured. They're the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's), and patients rely on their quick reaction and competent medical care before they are transported to a hospital for emergency medical treatment. An EMT has the training and emergency skills to assess a patient's condition and to manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies.

Since the 1970's, Tri-County Technical College's Continuing Education Division has offered this 1488-hour program to people wanting a career in emergency medical services. The instruction will be enhanced, thanks to the generous donation of an EMT vehicle from the North East Rescue Squad of Abbeville County to the College's Foundation. The ambulance, a first for the College, will enable students to get real-world experience as they train for this certification, said Linda Vinson, chief of the North East Rescue Squad in Abbeville County. Vinson obtained her EMT re-certification training credentials at Tri-County. Since 1990 she has worked with the Abbeville County EMS. She also teaches First Aid and CPR classes for Tri-County.

"We couldn't use this EMS vehicle because it is too short to run as a rescue unit," explained Chief Vinson, "since extra backboards can't be placed inside. When we were trying to decide what to do with the ambulance, we thought of Tri-County's EMT program and gave them a call," said Chief Vinson.

With this ambulance, teaching is a different world," she said. "You can teach students in the back of the ambulance -- in the surroundings they will be working in -- as opposed to performing skills such as CPR on the floor of a classroom. Students can now practice their skills in the back of an ambulance."

"Thanks to this generous donation to Tri-County's EMT training program, our students can develop even better real life applications of skills, said Janelle Hicks, director of the Health Care Programs Department of the College's Continuing Education Division. "This unit will allow students to learn how to better administer a variety of skills right there in the ambulance and to learn that every supply or piece of needed equipment has its specific place on the ambulance."

The rescue unit is being painted with Tri-County identification, and Hicks hopes the vehicle will be in service for the next EMT class set for March 12.

"The EMT Department is branching out to meet the needs of the emergency medical services agencies in the area," said Hicks. An EMT Refresher course was recently completed for the first time ever at the Oconee Nuclear Station and was aimed specifically for its staff EMTs. An EMT Basic class recently began at Medshore in the Anderson area and at the Belton Rescue Squad, at each agency's request. "We are looking at expanding our offerings, such as an Emergency Vehicle Operators Course to meet the needs of emergency services," added Hicks. "The Office of Domestic Preparedness Weapons of Mass Destruction Course and updated Hazardous Materials Training was recently added to our DHEC-approved curriculum," said Hicks.

"Emergency Medical Services personnel serve a critical role in our communities. When you have an emergency need, the education and skills of the EMT arriving on the scene can make a difference between life and death," said Hicks.