This One Time at Paramedic Camp
By Bruce Boatman

A flurry of activity by future EMS Providers was noted at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA last weekend.  Penn. College of Tech., which is an affiliate of Penn State University, held their 2^nd annual EMT/Paramedic Camp.  The participants included 2 of our present Junior Members: Matthew Orshaw and Meghan Porter; as well as an employee’s son, Gary Short.   Matt will be a senior at Athens Area High School this upcoming school year; Meghan will be a junior at Sayre Area High School and Gary will be a senior at Candor High School.  There were at least 4 other students from the Bradford County Fire and EMS districts also participating in the activities.

Some of the skills the campers learned and practiced were: airway management, intubation, bleeding control, rope rescue, rapelling, splinting, vehicle rescue, SCBA training, IV initiation/therapy, and CPR/First Aid.   On Friday evening, the campers were oriented to the Campus Facilities which they would use.  While at Penn. College of Tech., the campers got to stay at the York Hall Dormitories.  Each unit had two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and a kitchenette.  Saturday the campers had classroom training and Sunday morning was the outdoors training which concluded with a visit from the Life Flight Helicopter and a display of the helicopter and EMS units from Lycoming County.  The Camp finished up with a picnic lunch for the Campers and their families.  While there, the Campers gained a great amount of insight into the EMS and Fire/Rescue fields.  They also met many other future EMS Providers from all over Pennsylvania.  More than one of the Campers said that they would be back next year because the time was too short and they had made new friends.