“A historic milestone for Suffolk County” is what was said at the graduation of Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services EMS Division's first-ever Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) Class.
The Class of 2025 represents a new generation of trained professionals prepared to deliver advanced pre-hospital care across all of Suffolk County.
“Their commitment to excellence and service sets an example to all. Congratulations to all graduates on this remarkable achievement,” said Suffolk County Fire and Rescue Emergency Services.
The South Shore Press spoke with Dina Wayrich, Certified Instructor Coordinator for the Advanced EMT class.
Why did Suffolk County create this program?
“Last year the New York State Bureau of EMS announced the sun setting of the critical care technician level in the state of New York and that critical care technician level was kind of unique. So, here in Suffolk County we decided it was important to be able to bridge that gap between Basic EMT and Paramedic to ensure the continuity of care for all of our residents.”
Who were the students in this class?
“In order to become an advanced EMT, you first have to have achieved the certification of New York State Basic EMT. Some students are interested in becoming paramedics, nurses, physicians, or physicians as a next step in their career.”
For the layman, what can the advanced EMT do that a basic EMT cannot?
“Advanced EMTs can draw blood, start an IV, administer several life-saving medications, and they can put a breathing tube into a patient who is not breathing or is not breathing effectively. And, besides all of those hands-on skills, the breadth and the depth of their educational knowledge was expanded to include not just what to do, which is what we teach our basic EMTs, but why we do what we do.”
“They have been taught to make critical decisions in situations where time is of the essence and hopefully to lead with confidence in high stress emergency scenarios.”
What does it take to get this certification?
“A basic EMT is approximately 150-190 hours of both classroom and classroom and skills time. The advanced EMTs do a minimum of 40 hours on an ambulance, a minimum of 40 hours working inside a hospital emergency room, and assess and treat over 50 patients in order to graduate.”
What is the time commitment for the class and when is the next one?
"The rapid condensed summer class we just did catered towards students. These summer students were with me Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3-9:30 PM. It was a full on 24-hour a week immersion program.”
“The next Advanced EMT class will be spread out time-wise. It begins in September 2025 and runs through March 2026. If you are interested maybe in the class visit Next Class for all the information on classes and other training and information.”