Waubonsee Community College, in partnership with Delnor Hospital in Geneva, has secured another advantage for students seeking to become paramedics.
The Committee on Accreditation for the Emergency Medical Services Professions, an accreditation committee of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, has awarded initial accreditation status to Waubonsee’s Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Paramedic program.
A recent peer review conducted by the accreditation committee and the CAAHEP’s board of directors found the program, operated by Waubonsee and the Southern Fox Valley Emergency Medical Services System Paramedic Training Program at Cadence Health System’s Delnor Hospital, to be in substantial compliance with the nationally established accreditation standards.
Waubonsee and Delnor have partnered to develop and operate the EMT-Paramedic program since 2007.
To participate in the EMT-Paramedic program, students must first hold an Illinois license as an EMT-Basic.
Initial accreditation status was awarded Jan. 15, 2015, and is scheduled to expire in January 2020, said Dr. Jess Toussaint, Dean for Health Professions and Public Service at Waubonsee.
Toussaint said the national accreditation status will allow graduates of the Waubonsee program to take the national EMS certification exams offered by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, as well as the EMT-Paramedic certification tests administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
By obtaining certification through the National Registry of EMTs, students will be permitted to work anywhere in the U.S.
