Nineteen recruits graduate from the Hall EMT Academy

Program Provides Career-Path and Self Sufficiency

Supported by friends and family members, nineteen recruits from Class 30 of the Hall EMT Academy graduated Oct. 13, 2015 at the Hall Ambulance Community Center in Bakersfield.

Over 1,800 people applied for a spot in the EMT Academy with those accepted into the program coming from diverse work histories including food servers, a fitness advisor, data entry clerk, and four having served in the military. One goal of the program is to provide an achievable career track that puts them on the path to self-sufficiency.

The Hall EMT Academy is not a school, but a pathway to starting a career at Hall Ambulance. Recruits are full-time employees who learn everything they need to get started working as an emergency medical technician in the Hall Ambulance 9-1-1 system.

During eight weeks of intensive classroom training, the recruits were introduced to the entire spectrum of EMS care including airway, respiration & ventilation, cardiology & resuscitation, trauma, medical & obstetrics/gynecology, and EMS operations.

Upon completion of the coursework, they prepared for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians exam. All nineteen Hall EMT Academy Recruits successfully passed the exam on their first attempt.

With their new EMT certification, the recruits have started approximately five weeks of field training on advanced life support ambulances. Once they have successfully fulfilled all objectives, they will then be eligible to begin working in the Hall Ambulance system, assigned to either a Basic Life Support or Advanced Life Support ambulance.

Opportunity for the graduates does not stop there. Hall Ambulance Service has developed a proven career-path in which a motivated employee can fast track their EMS career starting with the Hall EMT Academy; followed by company-sponsored paramedic school and the opportunity to promote to a paramedic field supervisor, and even a position in leadership.

Established in 2001, the Hall EMT Academy has seen great success with 325 EMT Academy recruits hired, and 88 still employed by the Company. Twenty-four have become paramedics through the company-sponsored training, with four currently working as paramedic field supervisors. Nine are working as paramedics, one working as a paramedic scheduler, and another having worked his way up to the position of assistant operations manager.

The rate of pay for a Hall EMT is $29,500 - $60,000, plus overtime opportunities (they work at a reduced wage during the EMT Academy training). Base rate of pay for a paramedic is $40,000 - $80,000, plus overtime opportunities. A paramedic field supervisor’s pay starts at $65,000.

For more information on the Hall EMT Academy, visit hallamb.com