Pennsylvania College of Technology has established a new scholarship to support students completing Workforce Development programs in practical nursing and emergency medical technician who wish to further their education.
The scholarship provides assistance for practical nursing graduates interested in the Nursing, LPN to RN program at Penn College and graduates of the EMT course interested in pursuing one of the college’s paramedic majors.
Jeffrey L. Hutchins, an adjunct faculty member who has served various roles as a paramedic and firefighter since graduating from The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center Paramedic Training Institute in 1997, was recently hired as director of the Lycoming County Department of Public Safety. “Hutch is in the process of quickly getting up-to-speed in his new role,” said Bambi A. Hawkins, learning laboratory coordinator for Penn College’s paramedic program. “He will be missed in the Susquehanna Regional EMS paramedic supervisor position, where he also served as a pre-hospital field preceptor for our paramedic students, but we are fortunate to retain access to his expertise and services for the part-time faculty role.”
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Dr. Gregory R. Frailey, the medical director for Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic and physician assistant programs, recently received the Robert D. Aranosian, DO, FACOEP Award for Excellence in Emergency Medical Services.
The award is presented each year by the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians to a member of the organization or of the emergency medicine community who has made contributions to the field of EMS that furthered the operation, teaching or development of the specialty through actions, dedication and deeds. It is one of the organization’s highest honors.
Career Day brought hundreds of ninth-12th graders to campus on Thursday to explore more than 30 activities offered by employees and students to help high-schoolers learn about the wide variety of career options available to them. The event is coordinated by the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office.
Students in paramedic majors were led through a variety of hands-on rescue operations and tactical paramedic activities to wrap up the summer. The two-week training, led by the Central Area Fire Chiefs Association, included vehicle rescue and ropes rescue operations at the CAFCA training facility, confined-space rescue at Frito-Lay, and water rescue on Lycoming Creek and the Susquehanna River. “The goal of these sessions is to make these future paramedics more aware of the challenges and intricacies associated with the many aspects of vehicle rescue in an effort to make them better prepared to treat both the patient being rescued and the rescuers who may be injured during these often-dangerous activities,” said Christopher T. Boyer, director of Penn College’s paramedic technology programs.
Eyewitness News reporter Morgan Parrish talked Wednesday with students in Penn College’s physician assistant and emergency medical services/paramedic programs about their imminent assignments during the Little League Baseball World Series. Parrish interviewed Reshma Sherpa, of Morrisville, North Carolina, at Madigan Library, where PA students had finished an exam; as well as Nick S. Dwyer, of Moon Township, and Carly Rae Stahl, of Lewisburg, at Susquehanna State Park, where EMS/paramedic students were training for water rescues. Parrish’s piece aired during WBRE/WYOU’s Wednesday evening newscasts.
Seven students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s emergency medical services/paramedic program, and 25 students in its physician assistant program, are set to be part of the health care team at the 2019 Little League Baseball World Series, just 3 miles from the college campus.
The nationally televised series runs Aug. 15-25 and draws tens of thousands of spectators each day to the Little League World Series complex in South Williamsport.
Students in the emergency medical services and paramedic technician majors received a hands-on lesson in air ambulance operations when a Geisinger Life Flight crew landed one of the medical system’s nine helicopters on the Madigan Library lawn Tuesday. The crew taught the Penn College students about Life Flight services and safety protocols when on the scene of a medical helicopter landing. The experience was part of the course Operations and Rescue Practices for the Paramedic. During the summer course, students learn about crime scene awareness, medical incident command and emergency vehicle operations. With the help of area emergency professionals, they experience water rescue, vehicle rescue, rope rescue, confined-space rescue and more.
A dozen residential Pre-College Programs and a daytime Creative Art Camp brought hundreds of young women and men to Penn College’s campuses in mid-June, providing hands-on entry to the myriad career opportunities reflected in the institution’s postsecondary curriculum. Keeping campers (and PCToday photographers) busy in recent days were these fun learning opportunities, some of which involved culminating projects: Architecture Odyssey, Autism Spectrum Post-Secondary Interest Experience (ASPIE), Automotive Restoration, Aviation, Building Construction (new this year), Creative Art Camp, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Graphic Design Summer Studio, Grow & Design Horticulture, Health Careers, Information Technology and SMART (Science and Math in Real-world Technologies) Girls.
A pair of first-term state senators visited Penn College on Thursday, stopping by several academic areas in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences and the School of Industrial, Engineering & Computing Technologies. The tour, abbreviated by a stormy forecast (but no less valuable), took Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) and Judy Ward (R-Altoona) to nursing, dental hygiene and three labs in the college’s ABET-accredited plastics program. The tour covered substantial ground: In addition to curricular information on all six schools, the legislators were apprised of the college’s integral corporate advisers, the focused global experiences of students traveling abroad, high-profile internship opportunities, and the essential contributions of equipment and expertise by business and industry. Also on the tour were President Davie Jane Gilmour; state Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the college’s board of directors; Michael J. Reed, vice president for academic operations/associate provost; Patrick Marty, chief of staff and assistant to the president for college relations; Zack Moore, vice president for government and community relations at Penn State; Jon Hopcraft, chief of staff to Phillips-Hill; and Senate photographer Christopher J. Guerrisi.
Students from Penn College’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences and School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications joined area law enforcement, emergency management and health care professionals in a recent simulation at UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport Regional Medical Center and a variety of other locations.
The college’s paramedic program has participated in the drill since its inception, and this year, the School of Nursing & Health Sciences decided to participate schoolwide to provide an interdisciplinary learning opportunity. The school had conducted its own Interdisciplinary Professional Experience on campus for several years.
The Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania and the PPL Foundation held a free STEAM Lab at Penn College from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, providing more than 250 girls and young women – from kindergarten through 12th grade – with a hands-on look at Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics pursuits while learning and working with Penn College instructors and students. Attendees worked side-by-side with Penn College faculty/staff and students to earn badges and take part in workshops. Girl Scouts also heard from campus leaders about the future of STEAM and garnered “Spark Curiosity” patches for their participation.
On April 24, Pennsylvania College of Technology will host an information session on its emergency medical services/paramedic program and its emergency medical technician course.
The event is scheduled at 7 p.m. in the college’s Klump Academic Center, Room 10.
Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic program have joined Penn State Emergency Medical Services to provide coverage at the university’s seven 2018 home football games in Beaver Stadium.
“Penn State EMS is charged with providing standby coverage at every home football game,” explained Christopher T. Boyer, director of paramedic technology programs at Penn College. “EMS providers are strategically placed throughout the stadium and respond to any medical or traumatic emergency that may occur both within and around Beaver Stadium. Considering Beaver Stadium is the second-largest football stadium in the country, seating 106,572 people, this is no small task.”
An emergency management technology major who is a survivor of last year’s Las Vegas shooting shared her story with fellow Pennsylvania College of Technology students and faculty Monday night in the Student & Administrative Services Center’s Presentation Room.
Emergency management, human services, nursing and emergency medical services/paramedic students were among those who listened intently and respectfully to Robyn N. Wolfe’s harrowing story. Her husband, William “Bill” Wolfe Jr., was the sole Pennsylvania fatality in the horrific mass shooting that claimed 58 lives and injured more than 800 people.