feature
FIRST RESPONDERS
Hattiesburg LPS Supplement Program Trains Future EMTs Brock Turnipseed When the ambulance pulls up to a medical emergency, the first responders who jump into action performing life-saving actions could be students from Hattiesburg High School’s (HHS’s) law and public safety (LPS) program. Six students in the program enrolled in a supplemental course designed to help 32
Summer 2022
them earn their emergency medical technician (EMT) certification. The EMT course, offered through Advanced Rescue Education Solutions (ARES), is a hybrid format of virtual classroom instruction and hands-on skills training. Sherod Reed, HHS LPS instructor, said the online portions of the course take place in the evening, but the stu-
dents can watch recordings of the classes if they are absent. Two of his students have already completed the Emergency Vehicle Operator Course and are licensed to drive an ambulance. Once they complete the ARES course, they will be able to take the national registry and earn an EMT-Basic certification that will allow them to work as an EMT or continue training to be-