Everyone who joins our class enters a new and exciting phase in their life and becomes an asset to their family, friends, and community. My name is Anne Zuercher. I am a PHRN with Tremont Rescue and a state certified Lead Instructor for the state of Illinois (since 1998). I am an RN employed at OSF-SFMC. Classes are lecture/instruction with hands-on teaching. Clinical time of an additional 16 hours in the Emergency Department and ambulance internship is also required. Class is held at the Tremont Fire Station at 300 S. Sampson St. Class size is limited to 15 students. In addition to the 172 hours of classroom instruction, you must complete 16 hours of clinical time. Eight hours must be in an ED, the other eight hours may be on an approved ALS ambulance or in the ED. Included in the class is the Medication class the EMT-B can administer in the PAEMS system. This class is governed by the Peoria Area EMS (PAEMS) office and IDPH. The content is the National Standard Curriculum from the NHTSA. You must be certified in CPR for Healthcare Providers by the American Heart Association (AHA) or Red Cross (Professional Rescuer) prior to class. CPR classes are offered through the Rescue Squad at no charge to students joining Tremont Rescue. The class may also be taken at Pekin Hospital. Tremont residents who join Tremont Rescue may be reimbursed for the class fee once their license is obtained and they engage in 48 hours/month of on-call duties and two 12 hour weekend shifts for one consecutive year as explained in the squad’s Policy Manual. Applicants must be 18 years of age and a high school graduate or equivalent. A background check is also done prior to any scheduled clinical time and is required by the hospitals. There is a nominal fee for this. Second semester high school seniors may start the class prior to their 18th birthday but can’t take the licensure exam until after they are 18 years of age. Due to the limited class size, enrollment will be determined by the order in which the applications and fees are received. I understand this all seems overwhelming, but don’t panic. We take it a day at a time and work our way through the knowledge and skills needed. The best way you can assure success is to attend every class and read the textbook.

Total classroom time: 172 hours (14-week course with three 4-hour classes each week)

Total cost: $350 for Tremont residents which includes textbook. For non-residents the cost is $700.00

Skills learned:
-Ventilating patients
-Administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
-Providing emergency medical care of simple and multiple system trauma
-Controlling hemorrhage, bandaging wounds, stabilizing injured extremities
-Assist in childbirth
-Administration of drugs
-BMV ventilation
-Placement of airway adjuncts such as oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways
-Manage general medical complaints, altered mental status, seizures, environmental emergencies, behavioral emergencies and psychological crises.