Page 8 - Reedley Exponent 1-17-19 E-edition

EMT TRAINING Continued from page A1
quire.
“We operate [the EMT classes] at
least twice a year. January through May would be the itinerary for that,” said Milton. “And then we try and teach them in the fall from August through December.”
Their next class begins Monday, Feb. 11. Milton said, on average, they enroll about 30 students with about 24 students completing the courses.
“They will learn the anatomy and physiology of the body, how it works, as well as how to treat and manage various types of medical emergen- cies and traumas,” he said. “We want
to keep up with the national registry standards to become an EMT.”
Friesen, who works as a para- medic at Sequoia and is also a paid call firefighter for the city of Reed- ley, said that working as a first re- sponder is a demanding yet reward- ing career.
“Trying to bring order and calm- ness to a chaotic situation,” Friesen said can be a difficult task. “That hu- man contact, and being able to share that contact, taking care of the com- munity, filling the needs of the com- munity, because it’s one to read the book and know the protocols, and paperwork side of it, but another is when you have the human interac- tion so it’s a much different experi-
They will learn the anatomy and physiology of the body, how it works, as well as how to treat and manage various types of medical emergen- cies and traumas
— Erik Milton, EMT for Sequoia Safety Council
ence than what some folks think it can be.”
Milton said students who want to become first responders will learn techniques such as splinting bones and joints, controlling bleeding as well as other life saving techniques.
“There’s a saying,” said Milton. “You get what you put in. So I would say maybe some people have issues with the more medical part of it. It’s an investigative process as opposed to the trauma, you see the trauma, you know what it is and you can help address it, but the medical part, that is sometimes a mystery.”
Milton said that completion of the EMT course at Sequoia is a “ticket” to take the national registry exam, if they pass the test, they be- come certified as an EMT.
“With this national registry ex- am,” he said. “I believe it’s 44 states that it opens up doors to be able to obtain a local card at the respective region or local county card, however,
the vast majority that take the class here will stay in this area. Others will look at it more like, it opens up more doors for their career.”
Sequoia Safety’s first responders work in 24-hour shift cycles.
Their transport vehicles, a white ambulance with the large blue strip- ing in the center, respond to a num- ber of calls in the Reedley, Orange Cove and Parlier areas. They also respond to calls as far as Squaw Val- ley, Dunlap, all the way toward the West Side of Mt. Whitney.
For more information on the up- coming EMT class or to schedule a ridealong, contact the Sequoia Safety Council’s main office at (559) 638- 9995.
The Reedley Exponent A8Thursday, January 17, 2019
Photos by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
LEFT: Nick Friesen stood inside one of the ambulances at Sequoia Safety while showing a medical supply bag.
ABOVE: From left, Nick Friesen, a paramedic, and Erik Milton, an EMT, demonstrated a CPR method on Jan. 10 at Sequoia Safety Council in Reedley.