Investment in LRCC paramedicine program will help it grow

LACONIA — The paramedicine program at Lakes Region Community College this year had more applicants than available slots. Thanks to an award of $580,000, secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the program will continue to grow.

Shaheen met with college President Patrick Cate, Fire/EMS program Chair Nick Mercuri and others from the college last week to discuss the growing need for paramedicine in New Hampshire and toured the school's program facilities. 

The $580,000 came by way of congressionally directed spending, formerly referred to as “earmarks,” appropriated in the 2023 government funding bill. The monies will be used to support the college’s paramedicine program in an effort to impact a statewide shortage of EMS workers.

“Thank you for the congressionally directed spending,” Cate told Shaheen on Oct. 10. “It’s made a difference, it really has.”

The program has grown each year since starting in 2021. Noting a large proportion of service calls to fire departments are made up of EMS requests and New Hampshire has hired from candidate pools in neighboring states in the past, Cate said the Granite State would do well to supply the workforce internally. 

“We have got to do more here,” Cate said. “We can’t be importing that EMS service.”

There are only three college paramedicine programs in the state, including the one offered at LRCC. Students who enroll in the LRCC program are also afforded conditional admittance to a broader program at the University of New Hampshire. 

“Training is always the No. 1 thing people want and it’s alway the first thing to get cut,” Shaheen said. 

The certification program is 12 months long, and the college boasts a 100% passing rate on national paramedicine boards, Mercuri said. 

“Local education with local folks will really help keep people here in the state,” he said. 

The college also launched an online program for an associate’s degree last week. 

“We have a workforce challenge,” Shaheen said. “It’s not just in New Hampshire, it’s in the whole country.”

Right now, the paramedicine program is at maximum capacity. The first year, there were 10 students — this year, program administrators received 26 applications for just 18 spots. They anticipate the program will remain full for at least the next few years. 

“We have wonderful connections with every firehouse in the state,” Cate said. 

And that will pay dividends to the students who choose to pursue the paramedicine career path. Many departments statewide are anticipating the need for between one and five new paramedics within the next five years. 

“We’re stemming the tide a bit, but we’re in a catch-up phase,” Mercuri said.

Fire departments prefer to hire firefighters with paramedic credentials, he noted. 

Mercuri is well suited to lead such a program — he’s also the chair for UNH Fire and maintains both professional and educational connections with fire departments, institutions and the New Hampshire Fire Academy & EMS, where he served as chief of strategy and planning. He also served as chief of EMS for the State of New Hampshire.

By the numbers, pursuing career and technical training at LRCC provides students with an affordable option — among graduates last year, less than 40% came away with any debt at all. Those who did accrue debt generally attributed it to costs of living expenses when forgoing employment opportunities to achieve education, not tuition cost itself. Fire students, specifically, are mostly traditional aged. 

“There’s almost no fire science student that’s not doing something on the outside, whether that’s part-time or that’s full-time,” Mercuri said. 

Shaheen noted state lawmakers would do well to think more expansively regarding the provision of health care and the fact paramedics and other emergency responders play an important role in that dynamic. 

The funding secured by Shaheen helps reduce the cost of tuition to about $4,500, Mercuri said. 

“What we really want is entry-level clinicians,” he said. “Not just technicians.”

LRCC also has a full virtual simulator for training its EMT students. 

“I hope it's as good a pedagogical tool as it is fun to play with,” Cate said.