Over the past several months we have explored a variety of ways to enhance our funding through grants.

The programs discussed have provided insight into the grant process and the development of EMS-based research projects with grant monies. This time, we discuss a great affordable way for EMS to continue and update their education.

EMS personnel are required to complete an annual program of continuing education to keep up to date on new techniques and technologies.

In the past, EMS organizations have been able to provide a continuing education program based on the courses known as the “alphabet soup” classes.

This category of classes includes delivery of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Basic Life Support (BLS), and Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS).

These courses are designed to provide our clinicians with updated information for the sick and injured patients we go out to treat.

Unfortunately, the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care requires a greater scope of training to ensure our providers are prepared to handle the daily operations associated with being our countries homeland defense.

To handle the operations of today’s pre-hospital emergency response, our agencies must provide the traditional courses for sick and injured patients, and couple that with a continuing education program with courses designed to handle emergency response to hazardous materials situations, incidents dealing with the release of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The expansive knowledge that is required to train on these topics can prevent many agencies from being able to deliver this program in-house; however the economic climate also prevents us from being able to send our personnel to another location.

This is where the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) comes into play. One quick look at their education course catalog and any agency would be.

However, the course catalog is only a small portion of the benefit from this organization. TEEX has partnered up with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide a wide-scale educational program to the responders of our nation’s homeland defense at no cost to the receiving organization.

These courses are designed to integrate into any agency’s continuing education program based upon the current level of operations (awareness, performance, and management levels).

To coordinate training through TEEX, agency leadership in certain states must contact their respective state Homeland Security Training Office.

To determine the best method of coordinating training for your agency, please visit the DHS/FEMA funded courses at TEEX by going to the TEEX Website.