Pictured front row from left are Marilyn Zagora, vice president of Academic Affairs at SUNY JCC; Cecil Miller, vice president of operations at UPMC Chautauqua; and Brian Wilcox, program director at UPMC Chautauqua. Back Row from left Lillian Vitanza Ney, board member and chair of educational services committee at JCC; Ellen Lehning, professor and advisor for the JCC-UPMC Paramedic Agreement; Daniel DeMarte, president of SUNY JCC; Rob Smith, JCC adjunct instructor, Emergency Medical Technology; David Thomas, executive director at WCA services; Kathleen Whitmore, adjunct instructor, Personal Health and Safety at JCC.

Jamestown Community College and UPMC Chautauqua have signed an agreement to create a paramedicine program at the college.

The partnership will provide students the opportunity to earn 30 credits each from JCC and the UPMC Regional Paramedic program. Students who complete the JCC-UPMC program will earn New York State Health Department emergency medical technician certification and an Associate in Applied Science in Individual Studies from JCC.

UPMC Paramedic Program Director Brian Wilcox said the need nationwide for paramedics is critical, “We’re the youngest when you look at the history of the medical field. Paramedics were started to be certified in 1970, so it’s 52 years if my math is right. So, we don’t have the same reputation or normalcy as the nurses and LPN’s have, so we’ve always run a little bit behind the rest of them.”

JCC Biology professor Dr. Ellen Lehning said she’s already seen interest in the program, “But now, they can not only receive their certification and be able to provide that kind of care, but they can also receive a college degree. And we’re also hoping that students who might not feel that they can start right in in paramedicine or want to get their feet wet, we have a series of courses to lead them in paramedicine. So, they can check it out and grow within the field.”

The paramedicine program courses can be completed on the Jamestown Campus, a combination of the Jamestown Campus and online, or a combination of the Jamestown Campus, Cattaraugus County Campus, and online.

For more information, visit sunyjcc.edu/programs/partnerships/paramedic-upmc