Teens gain real-world experience at Brownsville EMT Camp
There was controlled chaos outside the Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc., building on Arch Street Friday as several newly trained high school-aged cadets worked alongside firefighters, EMT and other first responders to navigate a mass casualty situation.
“It was a really eye opening experience,” said 14-year-old Adeline Hatfield after attempting life-saving measures on a mannequin who represented a victim of a severe car accident scenario.
“We learned a lot, and now we’re just putting it together,” Adeline said on Friday.
Hatfield is one of 13 cadets at the inaugural Brownsville Ambulance Service EMT camp last week. Students between the ages of 13 to 17 participated in a weeklong summer camp that focused on various medical or first responder jobs, such as firefighters, EMTs or dispatchers.
Beth Bock, EMT and co-coordinator of the camp, said the scenario the 13 high school-aged students had prepared for all week involved pairing cadets with certified firefighters to observe and participate in a simulated mass casualty response. The exercise depicted a driver and passenger hitting several bystanders in a staged vehicle collision.
“We plan to walk through the scene slowly, so that the kids can learn what’s going on through the firefighter’s mind, what it that they’re seeing and how to size up a scene when they get there.” Bock said. “We want to really slow it down and make it teachable and absorbable for the kids.”
Using two live actors, cadets triaged, treated, communicated, moved and provided aid into a simulated catastrophe with the help of the Brownsville fire and EMT services.
On Friday, the Brownsville EMS hosted its final day of the camp which gave high school students a chance to learn what it’s like to work on the front lines of the medical field.
“The thought was, how many local kids can we inspire within our service area to go into EMS, to medical or paid fire positions? How many kids can we give a peek behind the curtain to see what we do on a daily basis?” Bock asked.
The free camp was made possible through a $5,000 grant. The camp also received donations from Walmart, and according to Bock and co-coordinator Sherry Nicholson, first responders from the area were eager to donate their time to help with the kids.
“We actually had people off duty come in and help us out. It’s been a joint venture really and there has been a real outpouring from the community,” Bock said.
Nicholson said a major inspiration of the camp was to get younger people excited about becoming a first responder. The profession, she said, has seen a steady decline in job retention over the past 8 years.
“EMS and health care in general need a boost in workers, and we’re hoping that doing a camp like this will help with recruitment, with interest and overall awareness of what goes into this type of work.
Czeniz Jellots, 17, who works as a medical assistant at Montgomery Medical, said she joined the camp to help her get more critical care experience. She got that, but the camp also opened her eyes to how important it is to be a first responder or work in the medical field.
“I give first responders and people in the medical field so much credit because a lot of us think that in a situation we can handle it, until it actually happens. I just think these people deserve so much credit and thanks because they are willing to put their lives on the line to save a stranger’s life,” Jellots said.
Dylan Haschets, 14, who said he wants to get his EMT certification by the age of 16, with the intention of studying to become a doctor. He joined the camp to get more exposure to the inner workings of the medical field. Haschets said he was appreciative of the instructors’ passion for the field.
“(T)hey actually wanted to teach us and benefit from it and get us certified for things,” he said.
The camp, which had its graduation on Saturday, has been by all accounts a success. Nicholson and Bock said they’ve received “a ton” of requests from parents and campers who look forward to the possibility of coming back next year.
“We really hope to do it again next year,” Bock said.
Mayor Ross Swords who was at Friday’s mock mass casualty event said the camp not only brought young people together to learn about the importance of the medical field but also hopefully inspire future first responders.
“These students worked hard all week long, and I think it’s been a great program and hopefully these students were able to take away what it takes to work in the medical and first responder field,” Swords said.