PDH and Care Flight provide paramedic training via a federal education grant

After receiving a federal educational grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Plumas District Hospital, together with Care Flight, hosted a one-time paramedic program which served Plumas, Lassen and Sierra counties. Local emergency medical technicians were provided an opportunity to further their medical careers by attending this all-tuition-paid program, which normally averages around $10,000.

A collaborative effort between Plumas District Hospital, Care Flight and REMSA Education Center resulted in the program achieving accreditation from the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP), who are deemed to be on the cutting edge of evidenced-based accreditation for emergency medical services.

Since September 2022, these students have completed a rigorous 589 didactic training hours, while maintaining the minimum GPA required to advance in the program. Additionally, they successfully navigated two intense days of final testing, which included three cumulative written exams, as well as pharmacology, EKG and skills tests. These students will now be required to complete 220 hours of hospital clinical rotations, before advancing to their field internships which are between 480-720 hours.

Many thanks go out to Sam and Ashley Blesse, Mark Thomas, Ryan Scarbrough, Nicole Scheufler-Beatie and all the CareFlight staff who have supported this program. We are exceptionally proud of these hard-working professionals, and look forward to them serving our local communities upon completion of their training.