2019.04.08 Public Safety Commission Packet

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Allina is willing to invest in their employees’ futures. Supporting education is very cost-effective for morale, for productivity, and when people do take advantage, it pays off.” Chris Caulkins Century College EMS Program Director students. The program's two medical directors are Charlie Lick, MD, Allina Health EMS Medical Director, and Kacia Engel, MD, Associate Medical Director at Allina Health. Brian LaCroix, Allina Health EMS President and Chief, is the Chair of the EMS program’s advisory committee. Allina Health EMS also donates retired ambulances to the program as well as cots, equipment and disposables. “Those donations are critical for us because our budget isn’t huge,” says Caulkins. “It’s an investment in our students. It allows us to create the realism of practicing placing an IV in a moving ambulance. We teach like we are responding to a real call.” Allina’s internal tuition reimbursement program is a key support for employees seeking further education at Century College, such as EMTs looking to become paramedics. “Allina is willing to invest in their employees’ futures,” says Caulkins. “Supporting education is very cost- effective for morale, for productivity, and when people do take advantage, it pays off.” The Future of the Profession Matt Miron, who is a paramedic and a supervisor as well as recruiter at Allina Health EMS, agrees with Caulkins that the future of the EMS profession relies on bringing in more providers with well honed people skills. “It’s not all lights, sirens, action, adrenaline, excitement,” says Caulkins. “Yes, you get those things, but not nearly in the volume that you think. Somebody once said, ‘EMS is long periods of boredom interspersed with sheer moments of terror.’ “ Caulkins thinks it is critical to prepare future EMTs and paramedics for the realities of the job. Miron agrees. “If you’re thinking you’re going in being the hero, that’s not how we operate,” Miron says. “We need people who have the confidence to be able to handle a chaotic situation.” But the most important part of the job, he says, is making the patient feel valued and treated like a person, not a symptom. If you’re thinking you’re going to be a hero, that’s not how we operate. The most important part of the job is the patient and making them feel valued. Matt Miron Paramedic Supervisor/Recruiter Century College Names Endowed Scholarship in Honor of Allina Health EMS For years, the faculty of Century College have been donating to an endowed scholarship fund that helps support the education of students who excel in the EMS program and have a financial need. In 2018, Century College finally reached that goal with the support of Century College alumni and Allina Health EMS. Samantha Morgan, an Allina Health EMT who is training to become a paramedic, was awarded a scholarship supported by the faculty of Century College and going forward, the new Allina Health EMS Scholarship will help students like her into perpetuity. “I’m always trying take away something from each call to help the next person. This job is really about the small things like holding someone’s hand or making them smile. Our job is mental as much as it is physical, and I love that,” she says. Samantha Morgan, 2018 recipient of a scholarship supported by the faculty of Century College Century College faculty have trained current and future leaders in public safety, including many at Allina Health EMS. As EMS services all over the country struggle with a shortage of new EMTs and paramedics to hire, Allina Health EMS is continuing to invest and strengthen its longstanding relationships with local EMS education programs. COMMUNITY REPORT 2018 98 ALLINA HEALTH EMS