Clarkson University Awarded $412,500 Grant to Expand First Responder Training Programs
Summary
POTSDAM, NY, Dec. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clarkson University has been awarded $412,500 from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will support the education necessary to address the EMS healthcare crisis in the North Country.This $400,000 in federal funding is just what the doctor ordered for the Lewis School of Health Sciences to help take Clarksons healthcare workforce education to the next level. In a more rural community, one of the greatest challenges in teaching clinical skills and scenarios is access to real patient populations during the learning process. With our federal and New York State partners supporting the NBRC and USDA initiatives, our development of simulation labs will allow our students and community first responders to encounter and practice real world scenarios with frequency.The 2023 Catalyst grant award funding will be used to develop a high fidelity training center for Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic education. The training center will allow Clarkson to train 300 EMTs and 60 paramedics over the next three years to fill open EMT and paramedic positions in the North Country.Many times in a rural setting, it can be difficult to educate EMS students in the field while lacking an urban call volume, said Doug Wildermuth, Director of EMS & Experiential Learning at Clarkson. This opportunity will enable us to recreate the frequency and realism of an EMS scenario with the student directing the care of each simulation and ultimately determine the outcome of the patient based on their treatment methods.