South Dakota EMS conference offers 16.5 hours of training

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) -Every two years, paramedics require 60 hours of educational training. Advanced EMTs need 40 hours, and EMS and EMTs need 20 hours.

Friday, the 48th annual South Dakota Emergency Medical Services Conference had approximately 400 in-person and virtual attendees, offering 16.5 hours of training.

In the Black Hills, about 90% of the ambulance staff are volunteers. This conference not only provides education on new techniques, physical training, and technological devices but also focuses on inspiring the younger generation to become certified and join these critical services.

“I’m going to be talking to them about how we can reach out to our communities. What do we need to do? Do we need to host events? Do we need to try to get our own District Seven EMT class up and running? The state does offer free courses, which is awesome, but the biggest thing is people just say, ‘I don’t have the time.’”

The Black Hills are home to more than 250,000 people, and the EMS and EMTs work together as a team. In this collaborative effort, different services support each other, and if one service is unavailable in a specific town, neighboring communities are paged to provide help.

“We cover each other’s back. We support each other in getting the appropriate coverage to our people as quickly as we can.”

The conference continues through Sunday afternoon but is not open to the public.

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