Submitted photo
Shown is the back of an ambulance used in training students in the EMT program at the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology.
LEWISTOWN The need for emergency medical technicians is at a critical point on both a local and a national level.
Local emergency agencies like Fame EMS in Lewistown are regularly looking to fill volunteer and career EMT positions, says Troy Long, paramedic at Fame, who is also the program coordinator and EMT instructor at The Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology.
“There is a severe shortage of EMTs and paramedics so we are well headed down the highway of a real EMS disaster in a few years,” he said. “The volunteer organizations are just like the career organizations. They can’t get enough manpower. They can’t hire enough EMTs or paramedics.”