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Queen Anne's County EMT praises equipment, training and workplace support
Summary
Haley Newweller, an EMT in Queen Anne's County, described training, equipment and staffing supports she says help recruit and retain emergency medical services personnel, noting specific equipment and that EMT training takes about nine to 10 months.
Haley Newweller, an EMT in Queen Anne's County, said she is training to become a paramedic and praised local EMS equipment, staffing and leave policies.
Newweller said she began as a newer EMT and has found colleagues and supervisors welcoming. "My name is Haley Newweller. I am an EMT too currently, but I'm in the process to promoting to a paramedic. I came in here as a newer EMT, and I will say the people and everyone has been very welcoming. And I've learned a lot, and I've gotten to love my job, so it's been great," she said.
The remarks highlighted equipment and training that Newweller said distinguish county EMS. She told the meeting that Queen Anne's County ambulance crews use "ZOLL vents" and can provide BiPAP, and that crews have "IV pumps as well," which she said enables different medication delivery methods: "we have ZOLL vents, so we're able to ventilate our patients as well as do BiPAP, which some counties are not able to do. We also have IV pumps as well, so we're able to give different kinds of medications different ways, and it's just, I think it's great that, you know, we're able to do that here."
On training and time off, Newweller said EMT courses typically take "about 9 to 10 months" and described leave policies as responsive when she needs time away from work: "Time off is good too. We are offered different kinds of time off, and I will say that, you know, anytime I need a day off, I usually get it." She also noted that people enter EMS at a wide range of ages, from those coming out of high school to people in their "forties and fifties" seeking a career change.
Newweller closed by reiterating that the county eased her transition into the job and that she has learned a lot since starting. "I will say this county here, you know, coming from me as a newer EMT when I first came here, they made the transition very easy, and I've learned a lot. So," she said.
The comments provide a first-person account of working conditions, equipment and training timelines in Queen Anne's County EMS. No formal actions, motions or policy changes were recorded in the provided transcript.
