Students in the paramedic program at Northern College in Timmins now have an ambulance and power stretcher to learn on.
It’s a retired ambulance, and was donated by Cochrane District Services Board, which operates the paramedic service across the district.
College president Mitch Dumas says the new-to-them equipment gives the students valuable experience.
“They need the training to know exactly what they’re going to be doing out in the field,” he observes. “This gives them the opportunity here in our bay here and on our campuses to be able to use this like if it was a real-life situation.”
CDSB chief administrative officer Marks says rather than talking in accounting terms about how much it’s worth, he’d rather point out the experience for students towards being job ready, minimizing the time for on-the-job training.
“It’s a cliché, but to hit the ground running, when it comes to saving lives and responding to 9-1-1 calls is really critical,” he states, “as compared to many other professions where we want people to hit the ground running. Let’s face it, when dial the phone 9-1-1, you want somebody who’s ready.”
