Jackson Hole Fire/EMS last week announced it has increased the number of full-time paramedics to 18 as of last week following the recent graduation of three firefighters who were already full time with Jackson Hole Fire. Last August, Chance Abel, Ian Cranston, and Ben Thurston completed an intense Weber State University paramedic study in Ogden, Utah through the distance education program, which consists of over 1,500 hours of a combination of live online distance education and in-person hands-on training.
The program includes 240 hours of supervised hospital rotations in surgical departments, obstetrics, pediatrics, and burn units; and 480 hours of field internships at several fire departments in Utah. The conferring of their degrees has enabled them to be added to the paramedic staff. Prior to beginning the paramedic program, each student was required to complete pre-requisite courses that included Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Math, and English.
