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Oxnard honors EMS Corps graduates and outlines program expansion and pathways to paramedic training
Summary
The Oxnard City Council recognized graduates of the city's EMS Corps program and heard from a graduate about the program's role in recovery and career pathways. Fire Chief Alex Hamilton and partners described cohort expansion, secured funding for paramedic training, and explained application timelines.
The Oxnard City Council on June 26 recognized graduates of the city's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Corps program and heard firsthand testimony about the program's impact on participants’ lives.
Savannah Gaskill, a program graduate, described surviving overdoses and years of instability before entering EMS Corps. “For the first time in my life, I feel confident about the future,” she said, adding that the program’s instructors and case managers provided ongoing supports such as rides and food that helped students persist. "EMS Corps has given me more than an education, so much more."
The council heard from Fire Chief Alex Hamilton, who said the program started after staff pursued local funders and collaborators beginning in September 2023. He said the city had stretched funds to expand cohort size from an initial 20 to 24 for upcoming cohorts and that nearly everyone in the current cohort had employment waiting. Hamilton said the city secured funding with the workforce development board for paramedic training for interested graduates after they complete roughly six months of EMT experience.
Hamilton said the program is a multiagency effort involving Ventura County hospitals, schools, the local EMS agency and ambulance companies and multiple fire departments. He encouraged prospective applicants aged 17–26 to apply at oxnardemscore.org and said the third cohort will start in January 2026.
Council members praised the graduates and the program. Several noted the program’s role in creating career pathways for residents who have experienced substance use, incarceration, or other adversities and highlighted that EMS Corps participants could appear on the statewide firefighter eligibility list, improving chances to apply for fire service jobs.
Council members and staff presented certificates to graduates at the meeting and asked staff to continue outreach to recruit for the next cohort.
Looking ahead, staff said they will post application details on oxnardemscore.org and will work with partner agencies to place interested graduates into paramedic training when they complete required field experience.
The council did not take formal action at the meeting on the program; the discussion and recognitions were ceremonial and informational.
