San Juan Island EMS sends student to paramedic school

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Submitted by San Juan Island EMS.

San Juan Island EMS Is very pleased to announce that one of our long-time EMTs, Margaret Longley, will attend paramedic school at the Seattle-area Medic One Foundation program. This is one of the best-respected paramedic programs in the nation.

The Medic One Foundation will pay for the training, and the San Juan Island EMS will pay a stipend to help support her. Margaret, born and raised on San Juan Island, has a strong background in healthcare and will begin her training in late August 2021.

Funding for this comes from funds previously dedicated to the payments on the EMS Building. Built nearly a decade ago, the Hospital District, which is responsible for San Juan Island EMS, was able to pay the building off in May.

While San Juan Island EMS has both staff and volunteer EMTs, it currently has only four paramedics, and is the only Advanced Life Support provider on San Juan Island. A paramedic is an advanced certification beyond that of an EMT that allows the paramedic to provide an array of crucial medications, intubate patients, and perform other Advanced Life Support functions.

We are very fortunate to be adding a fifth paramedic and wish Margaret success and a quick return!