News

BRCC's EMT program wins initial accreditation

By Bill Moss, Published: June 26, 2012

The national accrediting commission has awarded Blue Ridge Community College an initial accreditation for its Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic program.Standards for this accreditation are established by Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and a large cross-section of emergency and medical associations.

There are only five similar accredited programs in North Carolina. The accreditation is for both the continuing education and curriculum programs at the College. It takes approximately two years to complete the Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic program.

"This accreditation gives our students an advantage since they will be eligible to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) test upon graduation from our program," said Jay Alley, Director of Allied Health and Emergency Services at Blue Ridge Community College.

"This has been a project that Blue Ridge has been working on for the last three years" according to Alley. In 2007, the NREMT announced that effective 2013 only students from nationally accredited programs would be allowed to sit for their national exam. "It was in the best interest of our students and the College that we pursue this accreditation" said Mr. Alley. "The entire process forced us to examine our program and make it even better. By achieving this accreditation, we took what was a very good program to the next level."

BRCC said it is working to meet the growing demand for paramedics in North Carolina.

"By obtaining this accreditation our student's will be able to sit for the NREMT exams. Upon successfully completing this exam they will be employable in North Carolina and the surrounding states of South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia," said Alley.