Hixson High, Hamilton EMS form pipeline partnership
Hamilton County high schoolers can now pursue careers in emergency medicine through a new partnership between Hixson High and Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services.
“This job is not just a calling,” Superintendent Justin Robertson told students during a news conference Tuesday. “You’re going to some of the hardest situations to serve our community. We’re thankful for those students that have chosen to go on this path. We hope that this path is one that will help you fulfill the dreams that started here at Hixson High School.”
The program, which is part of the school’s CHI Memorial Institute of Healthcare and Medical Careers, forms Hamilton County Schools’ first “pipeline partnership,” giving students the chance to receive hands-on training and earn a job with the agency upon graduation. EMS has committed to guaranteeing a job interview to all students that complete the program, Olivia Bagby, the district’s director of future ready students, said.
The partnership originated from both the community’s need for more emergency medical service personnel and student interest. EMS requires applicants to have completed training before getting hired, EMS Director John Miller said. The department has also struggled with staffing issues for the past decade, so this program will be a big help, he said.
“We need more young people to see in themselves a future of public service, whatever that may look like,” Hamilton County Mayor
Weston Wamp told reporters. “I don’t know that … there’s a purer example of public service than what the men and women of Hamilton County EMS do, right. Rain, sleet, snow, they go into very dangerous circumstances. Sometimes they’re just caring for our grandparents, but everyday looks different.”
Roughly two weeks ago, the Hamilton County Commission
allocated $150,000 for the new program’s equipment and classroom needs. An additional $100,000 will be contributed to the program during the next four years through the county’s general budget, Mary Francis Hoots, the county mayor’s spokesperson, said.
Fourth year students in Hixson High’s medical careers future ready institute will have the opportunity to select this program for their workplace learning experience. The funds will allow those students to travel to EMS’s training center to complete training, as well as cover the cost of the certification course, scrubs and other training materials, Bagby said.
“Transportation continues to be our biggest barrier when it comes to workplace learning,” she said in an interview. “This is an extremely exciting opportunity where we’re pairing the students to an opportunity and the business community is providing the resources for the students to access it.”
The district hopes to have around 15 students enrolled this fall, she said.
Across Hamilton County, there are roughly 30 future ready institutes, which aim to embed small learning communities at the district’s traditional high schools that focus on a variety of industry themes with the goal of preparing students for careers after graduation. Students can apply to attend an institute at a school they are not zoned for through the district’s school choice program.