SIDNEY — Spirit Medical Transport LLC, has announced the creation of 15 new emergency medical technician positions through a scholarship program being offered by the family-owned and -operated company.
With offices in Greenville, Celina, Sidney and Van Wert, along with Richmond and Liberty, Indiana, Spirit President/CEO Brian K. Hathaway said it’s becoming difficult to find well-qualified EMTs and paramedics. The shortage of available EMTs and paramedics is being felt across the Buckeye and Hoosier states in both the private and public sectors.
“We interview a lot of people who have an interest in becoming an EMT and entering EMS as a career field,” said Aaron L. Guthrie, vice president of Spirit. “Their biggest challenge normally is lacking the financial means to pay for the class and/or the dedicated time it takes to meet all the course requirements.”
With this thought in mind, the executive management team at Spirit have partnered with Four County Career Center, based in Archbold, to host a six-week EMT course, where not only are the EMT classes paid for, but the successful scholarship candidates will be financially compensated for each day of class they attend. Classes will be in Spirit’s Greenville office, five days a week, starting Sept. 18. For those not living in the Greenville area, transportation options to and from class are also being made available.
“As a company, our mission is to have local people taking care of local people as much as possible,” Hathaway said. “To do this, we have established a scholarship program that not only creates a solution to the problem, but brings more jobs to the local communities we serve and provides additional resources for those volunteer and part-time organizations in need of EMS professionals, just like us.”
Spirit began accepting scholarship applications Aug. 5 from people who have an interest in becoming emergency nedical technicians and working full-time for Spirit once they’ve successfully completed their classes and training. The scholarship requires a two-year, full-time employment commitment to Spirit. Application requests can be made at www.spiritmedicaltransport.com or by emailing [email protected]. Applications will also be available at Spirit’s two locations on the Darke County Fairgrounds during the Darke County Fair .
Candidates submitting an application for the scholarship program have until 5 p.m., Aug. 25, to apply. After submitting the application, candidates will be interviewed on a first-come, first-served basis by the director of employee relations. Panel interviews of scholarship finalists will take place Aug. 29-30 at the Greenville office.
“The scholarship is designed not only as an investment in our business, but also as a means of opening the doors of opportunity to those individuals who are in pursuit of a rewarding career and have a passion to serve people during some of the roughest days of their lives,” Hathaway said. “As a company, we are excited about enabling personal growth and career success to those who want to join us and our commitment to serve the community.”
