Springfield – On Sept. 5, Springfield officials joined American Medical Response (AMR) in congratulating their newest class of Earn While You Learn (EWYL) Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). Twenty one graduates will soon be certified EMTs and will work for AMR Springfield full time. The diverse class consisted of 9 females and 12 males, with 14 identifying as a member of a racial or ethnic minority.
AMR’s award-winning Earn While You Learn program is designed to ease the transition for those wanting to become EMS professionals. The innovative program allows trainees to be full-time or part-time employees while taking the necessary certification courses to become emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
The 21 graduates of this academy are: Alejandra Almanza, Neisha Baez, Jeremy Beach, Isaiah Beasley, Jack Beliveau, Jacob Billings, Eric Caldwell, Mackenzie Cote, Tierra Daniels, Madison Laflamme-Garcia, Miguel Lozano, Juan Matos, Farahgul Mirza, Jhovantay Morales, Robert Motley, Ryan Murphy, Tanairy Ortiz, Tyler Pesino, Malaisia-Lyn Thomas, Jacob Thomas-Hall and Kimberly Urena.
Earn While You Learn participants are hired as employees and compensated while attending the EMT-Basic certification course. Upon successful completion of the program and obtaining their state certification, participants are promoted to EMT-B, with a commensurate pay increase.
Earn While You Learn received a national honor in 2019 from the American Ambulance Association in the best Employee Programs Category. Similar programs have also been launched in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.
