MountainView Hospital graduates first students from paramedic school
MountainView Hospital, a full-service teaching hospital in northwest Las Vegas, celebrated its first graduating class of Paramedics from the hospital’s Paramedic Institute. This is a first not only for MountainView, but the first paramedic graduates for HCA Healthcare.
Launched in late 2020, the MountainView Hospital Paramedic Institute is currently the only hospital in Las Vegas, as well within HCA Healthcare, to offer an extensive education and training program for prehospital professionals throughout the Las Vegas Valley.
The inaugural cohort of paramedic provider students took part in a 57-week program that involved a stringent didactic regimen and hands-on clinical immersion. MountainView partnered with local Fire Departments and private EMS agencies in creation of the program. Students attending the institute were sponsored by each agency.
“This is truly a community effort. HCA Healthcare, along with our community partners are proving that great things happen when we leveraged individual assets together to achieve a common goal,” said Troy Tuke, RN, NREMT-P, MountainView Hospital Paramedic Program Director. “Our students are arriving in the field ready to work and take excellent care of the residents and visitors of the Las Vegas Valley.”
The first cohort included 19 students representing five EMS agencies including Clark County Fire Department, North Las Vegas Fire Department, AMR, Community Ambulance and Medic West Ambulance.
To graduate, students completed 57 weeks of a clinically immersive program, two didactic blocks with two clinical block rotations. Students also had to complete numerous industry certifications, including (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), among others. Students also had to successfully complete the Southern Nevada Health District Protocol Exam and have a successful completion of an agency field internship.
Graduates scored well above the national average on measured metrics for a successful completion of the program.
“Congratulations to the first class of MountainView Hospital Paramedic Institute graduates; this is a significant step forward for caring for our community,” said Matthew Cova, MountainView Hospital Chief Operating Officer. “With our agency partners, we are able to provide a unique educational opportunity to support the education of medical professionals in our community.”
Since the first cohort, another 44 students from eight EMS agencies have started with the Institute, with Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, Henderson Fire Department and Mesquite Fire Department representing new agencies.
The need for paramedic schools in the Las Vegas great, as the Las Vegas Valley, much like the rest of the nation, is experiencing a Paramedic/EMS provider shortage. This has been exasperated by an aging workforce, COVID-19 and overall decline in interest in the paramedic profession.
MountainView Hospital is a regional leader in medical education and has been ranked as one of the nation’s Top Teaching Hospitals by The Leapfrog Group. MountainView is home to the Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education Consortium, which includes more than 150 residents and fellows in numerous disciplines including emergency medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, radiology, anesthesiology and OBGYN, physical medicine and rehabilitation. MountainView is also home to the MountainView Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program and a nurse residency program.