Rappahannock Community College (RCC) is committed to providing access to high-quality Emergency Medical Service (EMS) education. The college, which serves a 12-county service region, offers basic Emergen-cy Medical Technician (EMT) training and is the only facility in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula that offers Advanced EMT and Paramedic classes.
Instruction is provided at both the Warsaw (Richmond County) and Glenns (Gloucester County) campuses and the curriculum is offered through a variety of avenues, including online and in-person. Debt-free tuition assistance is available for all RCC EMS classes.
The basic EMT class is offered in-person at the Glenns campus. The program produces competent, entry-level technicians, who serve the community with basic life support care via the Virginia EMS infrastructure. Upon completion of the program, students are eligible to test for National Registry and Commonwealth of Virginia certifications. Employment opportunities are available with ambulance services, fire and rescue services, hospitals, local, state and feder-al government agencies, and humanitarian relief organizations.
Area EMS professionals can receive their Advanced EMT and Paramedic certification close to home by attending RCC. Students have the option of taking their advanced classes online and completing the labs one evening a week at either campus along with Saturday sessions as needed. For those professionals who prefer face-to-face instruction, RCC offers advanced classes one day a week at the Glenns campus.
Ellen Vest, RCC EMS program head, said, “Consolidating class-time into one full day per week helps those students who must travel a distance to our campus or who have to schedule around full-time agency work.” Vest adds that plans are in the works to add an Advanced EMT class beginning in January that will be offered through interactive video class one night a week between the Warsaw and Glenns campuses. The lab will be offered on a second night at both campuses with some Saturday sessions.
For more information on taking EMS classes at RCC, contact Vest at evest@rappahannock.edu or 804-758-6777.
