Three of Lifeguard's operations recently participated in either a career day for elementary-age children or for highschool and college-age students.
Columbia County and Nashville
Both Lifeguard-Columbia County and Nashville each recently participated in a career day at a local elementary school in their respective areas. Team members from each operation gave the children tours of the ambulances and demonstrated and explained how and why some equipment is used. The demonstrations included how a stethoscope works and the maneuvering of the stretcher. Furthermore, Lifeguard-Columbia County used a student volunteer to show how the cardiac monitor worked, and then the team members printed off the EKG reading and showed it to the students. In Nashville, the students also had the opportunity to see how the fire hose works on a fire truck. The firefighters even allowed the children to help "hold" the hose as it sprayed the water.
Santa Rosa County
SkillsUSA is a nation-wide organization that enables its student members to “become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens.” The program offers local, state, and national competitions in which the students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills. Pensacola State College hosted the Florida SkillsUSA State Competition and the 3rd Annual Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo at the Pensacola Civic Center. More than 1,800 high school and college students traveled to Pensacola and competed in about 110 competitions during the two-day event. The students demonstrated the skills they have learned for trade, technical, and skilled service occupations, including some healthcare occupations.
Held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA competition was the Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo. Lifeguard-Santa Rosa was one of the sponsors of the career expo. During the expo, nearly 2,000 high school and college students were able to visit with different companies and explore potential career opportunities. Along with an ambulance crew, one of Lifeguard-Santa Rosa’s lieutenants attended the event and demonstrated to the students some of the equipment that is used in the back of an ambulance. Furthermore, he also had the opportunity to share in detail with the students about the EMS industry and what type of training they would need to become an EMT or paramedic. Several students seemed very interested in pursuing a career in EMS when they left the expo.
