Seven Begin RCFD Paramedic Training Program

Program consists of 1,300 hours in just under 11 months

Rapid City, S.D. - Six employees of the Rapid City Fire Department and one member of Sturgis Fire and Emergency Services began the intense, eleven-month long Rapid City Fire Department Paramedic Education Academy last week. The program, which consists of nearly 1,300 hours of classroom and clinical education, will culminate with final testing in November. 

The RCFD Paramedic Education Academy was awarded initial accreditation by the Board of Directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) in August of 2019. The CAAHEP Board acted upon the accreditation recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP). The RCFD stands as one of only a few fire departments in the country to have its own, in-house accredited Paramedic education program.

Once the students complete the program, they will be certified in areas such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). Individuals that complete the program and pass the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) psychomotor and cognitive exams then must successfully become licensed with the South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners (SDBMOE) before beginning an intense months-long Paramedic Field Training and Evaluation Program.

The department began providing Paramedic education for RCFD employees in 2016 after it was granted a Letter of Review by the CAAHEP. Since that time, 12 RCFD employees have completed the program with a 100% pass rate.

The course is led by EMS Training Specialist/Paramedic Lt. Jason Reitz. In an August 2019 interview, Lt. Reitz said of the program, “Having a program that can continually meet the demands of the Rapid City Fire Department and the community we serve is so important.” Reitz added that the importance of having quality Paramedics and a solid EMS system is important to both residents of Rapid City and the surrounding area, but to the traveling public as well.

The Rapid City Fire Department continues to see an increase in demand for Emergency Medical Services each year. In 2019 the RCFD responded to over 18,000 calls for service, a new record for the department. Of those calls for service, over 16,000 were EMS related, a 7 percent increase over 2018.

For questions or comments related to this release, please contact Jim Bussell, Public Information Officer for the Rapid City Fire Department, at 605-394-4180.

Rapid City Fire Department Paramedic Education Academy students, left to right:
Journeyman Firefighter/Medic Josh Kusser, Firefighter/Medic Steven Gilbert, Firefighter/Medic Kyle Steen, Firefighter/Medic Cory Eberle, Firefighter/Medic Karin Shoemaker, Journeyman Firefighter/Medic Dustin Larsen and Sturgis Ambulance Service EMT Heidi Schulz.

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