I had the pleasure of talking to the current paramedic candidates’ class for Cecil County this afternoon. Soon these six young men and women will staff the county’s advanced life support units, providing emergency care for critical cases whenever the need arises. They’ve been busy studying advanced medical procedures such as how to administer IVs, use defibrillators, push drugs and intubate patients. It’s a crammed schedule full of essential life-saving knowledge and skills and as I departed this afternoon they were getting ready to study medical protocols.
I was there was to talk to these young providers about the history of Cecil County Emergency Services and explore the legacy of the progressive system they’ve joined. The county’s paramedic system celebrated its 20th anniversary last fall and the first group of volunteer Advanced Life Supporter Providers, capable of administering drugs and providing other treatments, started traveling the county in 1978. Through a lot of hard work and determination Cecil County has maintained a progressive role in Maryland EMS and I was pleased to explore the past of of the system with this fine group of recruits.