Bay College emergency medical responder graduates and those involved with the program — from left, in back are instructor Amy Anderson, Nick Cox, Anna Delaney, Xzavier Anderson, Stacey Niskanen and assistant instructor Tom O’Brien; in front row are assistant instructor Ashley Anderson, Alexander Anderson, Kaitlyn Maki, Matt Jensen and Agela Spriksx (Photo provided by Bay College)

ESCANABA – Eight students recently graduated from the Emergency Medical Responder class that took place from Sept. 3 to Nov. 1 at the Escanaba Campus.

Emergency Medical Responders, known as Medical First Responders in Michigan, have been around for many years. The purpose of MFRs is to respond and provide vital care to people experiencing a medical or traumatic emergency.

The class graduates can now take the licensing test. An EMR license enables emergency responders for local fire departments and emergency agencies to respond to medical emergencies, providing critical patient care in the first few minutes of an emergency, according to a news release from Bay College.

The course was taught by Amy Anderson, a former program director and full-time instructor at Bay College. “Amy provided incredible instructional support and once again represented the best in EMS education on behalf of Bay College,” said Jim Cousino, dean of Business, Technology and Workforce Development.

Anderson began the Bay College EMT/Paramedic program at its inception in 2015. She also was a paramedic for more than 30 years, retiring from Rampart Ambulance.

“The community identified a need for Medical First Responders, and Bay College offered this class to fill the community need,” Anderson said, adding, “Graduates of this program are volunteers who give of themselves to serve their community. They are caring and selfless individuals who devote their time to helping others in their time of need.”

The recent EMR class included a diverse group of students with various goals. Some students will be primarily responding in their community to provide care until more advanced care can arrive. Others are firefighters or members of other agencies, such as Search and Rescue.

Bay College this fall expanded its Emergency Medical Services programs, including paramedic and EMT training, to the Bay College Iron Mountain Campus and to Luce County, in partnership with the Luce County Ambulance Service based in Newberry, in the eastern Upper Peninsula.