Columbia High School introduced a new course offering this semester, partnering with the city’s EMS department to both jumpstart a career for students and perhaps help the community down the line.

Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alyssa Smith explained that the district offered an Emergency Medical Technician class for some time, with the program also including students from Dupo High School.

“That EMT class was kind of starting to dwindle a little bit, and that’s why we were doing an injunction with Dupo,” Smith said. “We were really looking for something new to expand and provide that track of being able to go through and take classes and then ultimately land you in a very good career with a nice salary.”

Smith further explained that, at the same time the school was looking to expand options for students, concerns were being raised within the City of Columbia regarding staffing shortages that have been seen in many emergency services departments.

“At the same time, the city, I believe, realized that they are needing to look at some other recruiting tactics,” Smith said. “It really was we were kind of both looking at the same issue from two different lenses.”

Columbia Emergency Medical Services Chief Kim Lamprecht offered her side of the situation, noting these staffing issues have come in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since we had COVID, there’s a downtrend in enrollment. There seems to be less and less people that want to go into healthcare careers or even public safety,” Lamprecht said. “We thought ‘Well why don’t we see if we can do an EMR class at the high school? Teach our local kids, get them interested in it to build into getting more people in the field.’”

The emergency medical responder course was approved by the Columbia School Board last year, and Lamprecht herself began teaching the first class of 16 this spring semester.

Lamprecht said she has a great deal of education experience already as she has spent about 20 years teaching at Southwestern Illinois College with a focus on EMT classes.

EMR classes can serve as an introduction for emergency medical care. EMTs receive considerably more training than responders, and paramedic certification requires a two-year degree, Lamprecht explained.

She also offered an overview of the class. The semester started with a focus on the ethics of emergency response care, including maintaining patient privacy.

The class has also covered a great deal of medical terminology, biology and anatomy.

Additional class topics covered throughout the semester include patient assessment, approaches to cardiac and respiratory emergencies, treatment for spine and bone injuries and handling pregnancy and childbirth.

Lamprecht described hands-on involvement as a big part of the class, with students measuring their blood pressure and interacting with various other emergency medical equipment to increase their familiarity.

A major part of the class’ final exam will be a hands-on practical test, and Lamprecht noted her hopes for keeping the class engaging for the students.

She said that, as she has asked for feedback from students, she has heard generally positive things.

Lamprecht also noted how beneficial the class can be for students.

“This is a great partnership with Columbia High School and the City of Columbia,” Lamprecht said. “By doing this, we’re introducing our high school students to the field of healthcare or public safety. It’s a dual-credit class so they get four credit hours going into college right off the bat… It’s a great opportunity for the students that are participating in it.”

Smith spoke similarly, noting how the EMR class helps students take their first big step into a trade career similar to the school’s carpentry program. She also mentioned some hopeful expansions for the school’s offerings in the education field and automotive trade.

She additionally spoke to the mutually beneficial nature of the EMR program for the school district and city.

“I just think that this community is already so supportive of the school district, so for us to be able to do this where ultimately the school is giving back to the community as well I think is phenomenal, and I would love to continue to see future opportunities where we could involve the community more,” Smith said.

Looking ahead, Lamprecht is naturally hopeful about the future of her current students, whether they later stay in their hometown to serve in the EMS department or use the class as an introduction to any medical field they might be interested in.

She also voiced her hopes for expanding the class, attracting enough students to get the program going in the fall as well as the spring.

“Hopefully in the future we’ll be doing two semesters of it and getting people engaged in public service and in healthcare, whether they’re a volunteer firefighter and giving back to their community or they choose paramedicine as their career,” Lamprecht said.