By Tricia Sinek
Growing our “own” Newly Trained Paramedics in Kittitas County Hospital District #2:
Congratulations to Nate Henderson and Matt Schauer for recently passing the National Certification exam for Paramedics.
Three years ago Hospital District # 2 negotiated a new contract with the IAFF Firefighters Union. Initially, the District agreed to cover the cost of training for 1 new Paramedic per year. During this negotiation period, the Board and Union made the determination that it would make more sense to expand beyond the terms of the contract and cover the cost of 2 new Paramedic students to be completed at the same time. This change would help to ensure that Hospital District # 2 can keep pace with the emergent needs of a rapidly expanding population in Upper County. The population is growing faster than any other District in the State and combined with the number of tourists coming to Upper County for recreational purposes – demand for emergency services in Upper County is considerable.
Two current employees of Hospital District # 2 who have served for years as EMT’s decided to undertake the Paramedic training program together. Both Nate Henderson and Matt Schauer wanted to become certified as Paramedics, but trying to take a year or more off from work to attend school full-time was simply too financially burdensome for either man to consider. Recent changes to the Paramedic Program at Central Washington University in Ellensburg opened up a new path forward, allowing them to attend a portion of the courses on-line.
The program required substantial classroom time, lab time, in-hospital clinical time and time riding with various emergency providers throughout the State to assure they had developed the competencies needed to become certified as paramedics. Both men continued to work their full-time 48 hour per week schedules in the District, care for their families, and attend all required coursework. Matt said he is “very grateful to have had this opportunity – but it was a rough 18 months” and “I am not sure I’d ever do it again!”
The Hospital district paid for tuition, books and testing fees and both Matt and Nate had to agree to pay for all travel for specialized training in order to meet the program requirements. These personal costs included hotels, and all food and fuel for travel to the various classroom, lab and on-the-road trainings. Many of the trainings and all-day labs occurred in Spokane, Edmonds, Yakima, Wenatchee and elsewhere over the 18 month time period.
Nate and Matt graduated in June and recently passed the National Certification exam. Like all nationally registered paramedics, they will need to retake the exam every 3 years to prove they have maintained their competency. For most of June 2022, they have both been working as Paramedics in the District. Their new training and certification allows them to deliver more complex care to the patients they serve every single day in the Upper County area.
Your newest paramedics want to say a big “THANK YOU” to the District and the Board for this opportunity. Both have an ongoing commitment to remain local. This is their home and they intend to stay for long careers in Upper County. They say it’s nice to be able to serve this community, to work for an employer that values and supports their employees and that understands the needs of the community at-large. They agree that growing internal expertise is a win-win, because you aren’t hiring and training someone who doesn’t intend to stay in this community after gaining short-term experience.
The change from serving as EMTs to paramedics means both men are now able to provide full patient care, give medications they were not previously allowed to administer, care for cardiac emergencies, give breathing treatments to those suffering from emergent respiratory problems, intubate patients in the field if needed, provide expanded coverage to the service area and deliver a higher level of care than previously possible. This is the right thing to do for the community and helps Kittitas Valley Hospital District # 2 to “grow their own experts” who are committed to continued service in the place they call home.
Congratulations to Matt and Nate! Well done. And special thanks to the Board of Hospital District # 2 for their visionary and innovative approach to staffing emergency services for Upper County.
