I have had the privilege of attending the ECP EMT course in Staten Island in 2014. It took 4-5 months of intense studying and testing to complete the course. The instructor, Louis Cazetta, is a no-nonsense brutally honest veteran in EMS. He guided us through the process of becoming capable EMTs.

After getting certified in December I went on to work at SeniorCare EMS. For those who think transport work is only non-emergent, boring, or routine, it is far from that. A few times a week I am responding to “Code 1” emergencies going lights and sirens to emergency calls from nursing or assisted living facilities ranging from chest pain, seizures, falls, psych, and abusive situations.

I have also gotten flagged down on the street for multiple car accidents and have been called upon to do CPR just because we happened to be at the right place at the right time. All in all ECP was where I began my education and has led to towards to a fulfilling career in EMS. I highly recommend ECP to anyone looking to get EMT certified.

It’s hard and there are many books and things to read and also different protocols. I took the Sunday class so I had all week to read and study which was good for me. The instructors were very helpful and would answer all my questions. I just took the state exam and found out I passed! I cannot wait till I start working

I took the EMT class at the Brooklyn location. There were a lot of single moms like me in the class. We all got together and studied before and after the class. I even went for tutoring at the main office and they explained things I didn’t understand. I felt like they really wanted me to learn. I told my girlfriend to sign up.

Last year I passed the EMT course offered at Emergency Care Programs and now I am working on a ambulance. I can’t believe it! It was hard and I studied a lot, but I made it. I feel proud when I put my uniform on and go to work. I want to thank all my instructors, even the ones I didn’t like so much. They made me do better so I am better.

I was working BLS with another EMT who had been working for about a year. We got a call for respiratory distress. When we got there I could see things were not going well. He was sweating and breathing with great difficulty. I put him on oxygen and braught him into my ambulance. I noticed immediately he stopped breathing and was unresponsive. As my partner began to freeze I checked for a pulse. I told my partner our patient was in cardiac arrest. He looked at me in bewilderment, what do I do? I told him to call for backup and start compressions as I began with the AED an airway. We were sent a BLS backup and went to the closest hospital with a notification. By the time we had gotten to the hospital I had taken over compressions and continued as we rolled into the trauma room. The nurses and physicians began their work up as I continued compressions. A sonogram was done to see if there was any heart activity. I was told to do one more round of compressions before calling it. After I finished my last round the pt had a pulse and was eventually taken to CCU. My partners and I were relieved we did everything we can to help this patient. Later my partner told me he froze up because he never had a cardiac arrest and wanted to know how I worked so well under pressure. I said I could hear my instructors voice in my head every step of the way. I want to THANK YOU JOE AND THE REST OF ECP FOR EVERYTHING. It is because of you and the ECP staff and the entire program that I was able to help this pt to the best of my ability. Like you always said there’s no time to think in these situations. It’s because of how you planted everything in our heads that really prepared me for my first real emergency. Thank you!