DSCC Partners with Baptist Memorial Health Care to Increase EMS Practitioners in Rural West Tennessee

Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) partnered with Baptist Memorial Hospital - Union City and Baptist Memorial Hospital - Carroll County to provide educational opportunities to increase EMS practitioners in rural West Tennessee.

The Health Resources & Services Administration’s Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program awarded Baptist Memorial Hospital of Union City a 3-year, $1.5 million grant for education, training, and employment opportunities for community paramedics/emergency medical technicians and respiratory therapists.

The West Tennessee Public Health Workforce Training Network will use the grant to provide scholarships for 24 residents of West Tennessee to receive respiratory therapy training and 60 residents to receive certified paramedic/EMT training. The grant period is from Aug. 1, 2022, to July 31, 2025.

“We are honored and excited that the communities we serve in West Tennessee will reap the benefits of this grant,” said Derick Ziegler, vice president of West Tennessee operations for Baptist Memorial Health Care. “Thanks to this grant, Baptist Memorial Hospital - Union City and Baptist Memorial Hospital - Carroll County will have 84 more dedicated health care professionals to provide high-quality care to our community.”

The West Tennessee Public Health Workforce Training Network consists of health care and educational stakeholders committed to improving public health capacity. Members of the network include Baptist Memorial Hospital - Union City and Baptist Memorial Hospital - Carroll County; Dyersburg State Community College in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and Jackson State Community College in Jackson, Tennessee, serving as educational partners; Priority Ambulance in West Tennessee, serving as a training partner; and the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board, serving in community outreach. This network will identify shared regional assets and challenges and link programs with resources in the nine counties comprising Northwest Tennessee — Obion, Weakley, Henry, Dyer, Lake, Carroll, Benton, Gibson, and Crockett.

“The partnership with Baptist Memorial Health Care is a win-win for Dyersburg State Community College. We have an opportunity to provide educational opportunities while helping to assist with an employer's need to fill EMS positions in the rural communities we serve,” stated Dr. Amanda Walker, Vice President of Advancement and External Affairs at Dyersburg State Community College.

The purpose of HRSA’s Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program is to expand public health capacity by supporting health care job development, training and placement in rural and tribal communities. The goal of this program is to enhance clinical and operational capacity to address the population health needs of rural communities affected by COVID-19, including those dealing with the effects of long COVID. The program addresses the ongoing critical need in health care facilities for trained public health professionals in rural communities.

To learn more about Dyersburg State programs, visit www.dscc.edu.