Mark Lagimoniere and Michael Pellegrino, graduates of BMLH's 2008 EMT Basic Program, 

return to lend support to the 2009 class of 28 students as they begin training to become EMTs

WARE - Tuesdays and Thursdays aren’t the same for 28 students since they began the Basic EMT Training Program at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital.   Recognizing the continued need for personnel to serve as EMTs in the many communities that surround the hospital, once again Baystate Mary Lane Hospital negotiated with paramedics and trainers, Don and Carol Benoit of Quality EMS Educators, Inc. of Worcester, to provide training at the hospital.  This is the second time around for the trainers as twenty-eight students from the towns of Ware, Warren, West Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, Barre, Wheelwright, Three Rivers, Monson and Belchertown begin their journey to become Emergency Medical Technicians. 

The course, which runs from September 1 through December 21, meets twice a week and on some Saturdays. Students will work through holidays, eat numerous suppers in the hospital cafeteria, and put their personal lives on hold in order to complete the training.  Training includes 150 hours of class time and ten hours of observation in the Emergency Room. Caring for patients in an emergency situation requires much study and practice.  

In addition to class time, students are required to read a 36–chapter textbook, complete quizzes at the end of each chapter, and pass tests that include both written and practical demonstration of their knowledge and skills in everything from patient assessment to back boarding and spinal immobilization. At the end of the course the students will sit for the State Emergency Medical Technician Examination.   

Remembering all too well the work involved in completing the Basic EMT Course held at the hospital in 2008, Michael Pellegrino of Hardwick and Mark Lagimoniere of Ware returned to lend support to the 2009 EMT Basic Program candidates.  

“I have found the Basic EMT course I took in 2008 at the hospital to be one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of a lifetime. As an EMT I now have the opportunity to meet and work with some of the finest EMTs, Paramedics, Nurses and Doctors right here in our community,” said Pellegrino.   A member of the Hardwick Rescue Squad, Pellegrino, is proud to be investing time and newly acquired skills in the community he knows and loves.    

According to Mark Tuttle, RN, BSN, MA, Nurse Manager of the Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Emergency Room, 17,000 patients are treated at the hospital's Emergency Room annually.   

“Our EMTs are a vital part of the safety infrastructure of our community,” and the first link in the chain of care for our residents.” This Paramedic turned Emergency Nurse went on to say, “these medics are the eyes and ears for the medical and nursing staff in the Emergency Department.  They provide life-saving care to their patients and valuable information to the hospital about the patient’s condition.”  This training program has helped to lay a collaborative foundation for teamwork to grow.

Baystate Mary Lane Hospital also holds monthly continuing education for EMTs, Intermediates and Paramedics.    For more information about EMT training or to register for classes, contact Michelle Holmgren, Interim Public Relations and Community Outreach Coordinator for Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, at 413-967-2296.