By News Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — To address a national paramedic shortage, the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department is starting a paid program to fill those gaps.
According to 41 Action News, KCKFD is short 20 paramedics and officials want to ease the financial stress of attending paramedic school. The program aims to address a national shortage of paramedics.
“You do like 20 shifts on an ambulance, and there are 20 or 30 shifts in the hospital doing 12-hour rotations in the ICU, OB (obstetrics), emergency room – everywhere in the hospital, so you kind of learn all the specialties, because when you’re a medic, you have to be able to do a little bit of everything,” Nick Carvan, a KCK firefighter and paramedic said. “Sometimes, it can be overwhelming.”
KCKFD will refund up to $5,000 for students taking the paramedic course and those participating in the program will be paid a monthly stipend of $2,300, with a guaranteed job placement after graduation. Students will need to successfully complete the certification test to qualify for reimbursement.
EMTs who want to take the next step to become paramedics and who are willing to relocate to Wyandotte County within 12 months are encouraged to apply.