The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

A group of local men and women may soon be certified to help the public in case of emergency. The Wahkiakum County emergency medical technician (EMT) class had 17 students complete a course in EMT certification on April 11.

From January until April, students spent Tuesday and Thursday evenings and every other Saturday in classes held at the Wahkiakum Fire Hall for a total of 150 hours. Once the final test is complete and passed, the group will be Washington state certified as EMTs qualified to operate the ambulance with two additional EMTs and transport patients to St. John Hospital in Longview and also to administer various medications.

The state approved program covers all aspects of EMT training, said Duncan Cruickshank, one of the class instructors and an EMT. It also covers legal and ethical issues such as which conditions EMTs are allowed to treat or not to treat.

“If a competent adult refuses to get treatment, they aren’t allowed to force them to get treatment,” he said.

However, the ethics are only a small part of the class. A 2.5 inch thick textbook is required and has all the information needed.

After learning the ethical and legal issues, students move on to the various body systems--respiratory, heart, muscles, bones, and so on. Then, Cruickshank said, they learn about the problems that may occur. They are essentially learning fundamental anatomy.

Many students will begin the class never having had any medical training. The students learn a whole new language. For a while, it is serious medical training. While they won’t emerge as a doctor, they learn about how to get a person from where they are to where they need to be.

There are many reasons for joining an emergency crew. For Valerie Windsor, her's was a reason close to home. After her son joined the fire department, she realized how many emergency calls there were. She wanted to help her community.

In order to just go on an ambulance call, she had to take a 52 hour course in Advanced First Aid.

“It gave me the ability to get on there and see if it was really something I wanted to do,” she said.

Learning the human anatomy proved to be a challenge, Windsor said. Even though she took biology in high school, there was a lot to learn and remember. She now understands how the body is connected and how it works.

Windsor’s favorite part of being involved is helping people. She said she didn’t know if she could go on calls to help people she knew, but seeing people's gratitude to receive aid makes it worthwhile.

“It’s the best part, I think,” she said.

Pending passage of the final exam, the following students will be certified as EMTs: Cathlamet Fire Department--Alex Arness, Vernon Barton, David Faubion, Amy Gorley, Mike Heriford, Nathan Miller, Gail Reynolds, Sara Tobin, Jeff Tobin, Teri Tramblie, Desaree Vik, Val Windsor; Grays River Fire Department--Kevin Maki and Shannon Maki, and Skamokawa Fire Department--Varsha Martin, Brian O’Connor and Jon Peterson. The following students have received their certification in Advanced First Aid: Jim Jespersen, Kalisha Mace, and Ray Peek.