Six Maui County emergency medical technicians have been promoted to paramedic after completing a 16-month-long training program.
The new paramedics are Keoni Duey, Keku Likua, Andrea Moller, Luke Nagle, Jamie Pagan and Steve Rossi. They were recognized during a graduation ceremony Saturday at the University of Hawaii Maui College.
Duey is assigned to Medic 6 in Hana. Likua and Moller are working at Medic 10 in Kahului. Nagle is with Medic 4 in Lahaina, Pagan is with Medic 14 in Wailea, and Rossi is with Medic 3 in Kihei.
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Duey
Paramedic promotions occur about every five years, said Ryan Joslin, public information officer for the Maui County Paramedics Association.
The six new paramedics started their training in January 2011 in the intensive program aimed at providing advanced medical care to residents and visitors of Maui County when they become sick or injured.
The students received training in advanced airway techniques, treatment of lethal heart rhythms, IV fluid and medication therapies, trauma care, mass casualty and hazardous materials exposure mitigation, surgical airway implementation techniques and more. Following course work, the students shadowed physicians in the Emergency Department, operating room, intensive care unit, labor and delivery, and psychiatric units to learn about the varying aspects of acute medical illnesses.
After didactic and clinical course work in both Maui and Oahu hospitals, the students were evaluated during six months of internship in which they responded to emergent 911 calls under the supervision of a preceptor paramedic. Three of those months required students to live on Oahu, where they staffed ambulances in Honolulu.
The requirements for being accepted into the paramedic program were prior experience as an emergency medical technician, completion of college prerequisites, a medical entrance knowledge exam and an evaluation by an oral interview board.
The Maui County Paramedics Association is the staffer of 911 and transfer ambulance personnel for American Medical Response, which is contracted by the state Department of Health to provide ambulance service for Maui County. There are 11 ground ambulances and one MedEvac helicopter servicing the county, each staffed by one emergency medical technician and one paramedic.
Anyone interested in an emergency medical service career can call the Maui emergency medical services training center at 244-4063.
