Ambulance Given to WCC

The 28^th Annual Northwest Fire and Rescue College was held in Wilkes Thursday through Saturday at WCC.  On Thursday, Clarence Hardison of Northwest Emergency Vehicles in Jefferson, N.C., delivered a fully operational ambulance to the Emergency Medical Services program at Wilkes Community College.  “Having the ambulance available for the EMS program will give students the opportunity for realistic training and help them learn how to perform emergency skills in the back of an ambulance versus in a simulated lab setting,” says Bobby Gentry, director of Emergency Services Education at WCC.  Northwest Emergency Vehicles is one of the nation’s leading dealers of ambulances and is a dealer for American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) whose manufacturing facility is located in Jefferson. AEV is one of the largest ambulance manufacturers in the world and the only one based in North Carolina.  “The emergency services community in Wilkes and the surrounding area has been very supportive of me and the company,” says Richard Hamby, president of Northwest Emergency Vehicles. The Emergency Medical Science curriculum program at Wilkes Community College was started in fall 2011, making it one of the youngest degree programs at the college. However, EMS training has been offered through continuing education for many years. With the demand for paramedics growing in the state and the nation, the degree program has gained early popularity among students.