Until a red oak tree in front of the Killingworth Ambulance Association headquarters was removed in June, it held a sign that read, “Volunteers Needed; Training Available.” The sign was taken down with the tree, but the need for EMTs remains.
So does the training.
In fact, the KAA will hold another EMT course next month, with the first class scheduled for August 19 and instruction ending at an undisclosed time before Thanksgiving. Classes will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with five Saturdays also included … and if that sounds like a commitment, it’s because it is.
So why get involved? Let us count the ways. What follows are 10 advantages to becoming an EMT with the Killingworth Ambulance Association:
- A 50 percent reimbursement of course fees after six months of active service.
- The remaining 50 percent paid after one year of active service.
- The KAA pays for active members to attend EMS Pro (a state conference) and the annual Connecticut Trauma Conference.
- The town of Killingworth has a $1,000 abatement for active members.
- The KAA reimburses the cost for state recertification for EMTs or EMRs.
- The KAA also offers a subscription to an online Continuing Medical Education (CME) program.
- The KAA offers a $50 stipend for each transporting call and $25 for non-transporting.
- Uniforms are supplied, with a $50 uniform allotment per year for boots.
- The KAA has a yearly appreciation and awards banquet.
- It also sponsors educational opportunities such as De-Escalation Training and Stop the Bleed instruction as they become available.
In an article posted earlier this month on Zip06.com (https://www.zip06.com/news/20190711/iino-we-need-to-start-now), Killingworth First Selectwoman Cathy Iino addressed the advantages of becoming an emergency responder. But she also explained that ‘finding volunteers to staff these services is increasingly difficult,” saying that “long-range challenges” loom for Killingworth and surrounding communities if that trend continues.
So what to do? The KAA has a solution, and it begins in three weeks.
“Just try it,” said Jess Accetta, a Killingworth Ambulance EMT from Clinton. “It’s a lot of hard work and commitment. Not everyone wants to get up at 2 in the morning (to answer a call). But if you have the passion for compassion and the drive to help others around you, this is the right place to be.”