It was 5th period at Ketchikan High School, and seniors Clara Edenfield and Gabriel Abigania were practicing their CPR skills on a mannequin. One student was giving it chest compressions, while the other was pumping air with a mask into its nose and mouth.
The process continued for a few minutes, while data from the exercise was sent to an iPad for review. CPR is one of over 30 emergency medical skills students will cover in the school’s new, yearlong EMT course.
“We can always use EMTs, whether it wants to be your career or if you want to volunteer,” said Ketchikan Fire Department Assistant Chief Greg Karlik. He’s also the instructor of the class.
Karlik said one of the course’s main goals is to connect with the region’s future work force to potentially meet the department’s staffing needs.
“It’s a win-win for both of us,” Karlik said. “The kids have a chance to get certified and have a certificate to go anywhere in the country and work on an ambulance, and hopefully we can build our own force to work for us.”
Karlik said some of the department’s staff are nearing retirement age. And during the cruise ship season, the city has to staff a second ambulance. Plus, the island’s three fire departments rely a lot on volunteers to step up when multiple emergencies are happening at once.
The renewed class is a precursor to becoming a paramedic – meaning students will go over emergencies they may see in an ambulance. They’ll take a state test at the end of the school year to qualify as EMTs. So far this school year, the dozen high school seniors in the class have learned how to respond to respiratory and cardiac emergencies.
“I think a lot of it, especially for the majority of the group, is just people skills,” said Kayhi senior Clara Edenfield, who will soon earn her CPR certification through the class. She said the new course has taught her how to stay calm in emergency situations.
“The material is very interesting, and it’s a good life lesson,” Edenfield said. “But the big thing is being able to work with people that are hurt and are probably not in the best mood.”
The skills Edenfield is learning in the class are critical to her professional development. After high school, she wants to get her paramedic certificate with the U.S. Coast Guard. She said after that, she might come back to Ketchikan to work as a paramedic with the city.
But even if she doesn’t, Edenfield said the expertise she and her peers are learning is good to keep in the back pocket.
“College isn’t for everybody, especially with how the world is right now, and how it’s going to be in a couple of years,” Edenfield said. “I think that this class is a really good opportunity – it’s totally free.”
Karlik, the EMS class instructor, said one of the course’s other goals is to get students interested in the medical field. He said if he can recruit qualified students to join the city’s emergency response team, that’s a plus.
“Even if they don’t go on to become an EMT or a paramedic, it’s such a good knowledge base for when they have their own families,” Karlik said.
It’s not the first time the fire department has led a class at Kayhi. Last year, Karlik said they hosted a semester-long emergency trauma technician course, where students learned how to care for traumatic injuries. And about a decade ago, the school offered a similar EMT class, but it fell through due to staffing issues.
Later this school year, students in the class will learn how to splint broken bones, administer heart attack medication, perform emergency childbirth and more. Karlik hopes there’s enough interest in the EMT class to bring it back next school year.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
