Letter to the Editor

Editor,

I would like to respond to a couple of comments from the August 1st edition of The Saratoga Sun’s coverage of the political forums: “I think we are over training or over requiring on some of those requirements” and, “It doesn’t take a whole lot of training to put a bandage on a guy’s throat”

I will refer to Wyoming State Statue 33-36-101 Wyoming Emergency Medical Services Act of 1977

Chapter 1 Section 3 Purpose These rules and regulations promote the health and safety of the people of Wyoming by establishing minimum standards and procedures relating to ambulances, a system for licensing of ambulance businesses, the training and certification criteria for prehospital emergency medical personal, land ambulance attendants, emergency medical fire protection service personnel, and by providing for penalties.

Chapter 5 Section 2 (a) QUALIFICATIONS FOR licensure: The Division shall not authorize, examine, or subsequently license any person as an EMR or any level of EMT unless that person has successfully completed the requirements as specified by the Division. Chapter 5 also addresses many other requirements for those individuals that run on the ambulance regardless if it is a paid or volunteer service.

Chapter 8 Section 2 addresses the continuous education requirements for the medical personnel:

Certified First Responder must have 26 hours of continuous education every two years eighteen of those hours are structured to specific topics after the initial 120 hours of classroom

EMT Basic must have 47 hours of training every two years with 40 of those hours structured to specific topics after the initial 200 hours of classroom

EMT Advanced must have 55 hours of training every two years with a majority structured to specific topics after the initial 300 plus hours of classroom

EMT Intermediate has to complete 67 hours all of the criteria listed above again with in a two year period after the initial 300 plus hours of classroom

Everyone that is licensed in the State of Wyoming has to have a background check done before they will be licensed.

Thanks, John Zeiger, Saratoga