CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – In honor of National EMS Week this week, DeSales University has launched a new Bachelor of Science program for paramedics.
“EMS tends to have a high turnover rate simply because it’s physically demanding, there’s a high burnout rate associated with this and there’s limited options for career advancement,” said Alan Heckman who oversees the new program at DeSales.
The degree, Heckman told us, will fill a much-need gap in the community at a time when many local agencies are stretched thin.
Montgomery County paramedic Ken Davidson spoke on the issue during Thursday morning’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Meeting.
“If you ask any EMS leader what their two biggest challenges are—they will almost always respond ‘staffing and funding,'” said Davidson, who serves as president of the Montgomery Ambulance Association.
DeSales University is trying to offset some of that burden with its new Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medical Services.
“This is a degree completion program for existing paramedics where we’re going to give them 46 college credits and allow them to complete their training and turn it into a bachelor’s degree,” Heckman explained.
Currently, there are over 700 accredited paramedic programs across the country and less than 30 bachelor’s programs. In Pennsylvania, Heckman said, there are only two or three, with none in the Lehigh Valley until now.
“If paramedics want to move up into management, they want to move into education or if they want to move into another area of healthcare, they need a degree in order to make that happen,” Heckman stated.
The new program at DeSales is completely online and comes with a 20% discount off of tuition for first responders.
“These folks have a barrier they need to overcome in order to advance. We’re going to help get rid of that barrier and give them that opportunity to move up,” Heckman concluded.