This JCC camp can save lives

SMITHFIELD — It’s no exaggeration to say that young people at Johnston Community College’s EMS Camp have learned how to save lives.

“We’ve learned CPR and how to use an EpiPen,” said 12-year-old Paiton Sweigart of Benson. “We learned about splints, life-or-death bleeding and strokes.”

Sweigart came to camp the old-fashioned way.

“My mom was looking at camps to see what I could do this summer,” she said. “She is a nurse, and she wanted me to go to camp to learn some basic things in case I ever need to be backup for a situation.”

But Sweigart also figured she could apply her newfound skills to herself. “I am an accident-prone child, and so it’s important to know this information just in case,” she said, citing an example. “You can use sticks and whatever you have around the house to make a splint. It’s also important to know it to be able to help other people.”

Like Sweigart, Vanesa Owens, 16, of Pine Level has new a skill set after the five-day camp.  “I’ve learned how to stop the bleeding, CPR and how to handle allergic reactions,” she said.

But the camp is more than textbooks. The young people practice CPR on a dummy, fashion a splint for a broken limb, apply a tourniquet to stop bleeding and even try their hand at driving an ambulance, albeit on a simulator.

“It’s not just learning,” Owens said. “You actually get to be hands-on.”

The camp allowed the young people to see just how quick emergency medical professionals have to be, Owens said. “It was interesting to see how fast we have to do things,” she said. “I realized just how under pressure you are and how fast you have to do CPR, among other things. It hits you how hard people work.”

The young people discovered too that lifesaving skills aren’t only for paramedics.

“We’ve learned stuff that you don’t have to just use working as an EMT,” said Emma Ethridge, 15, Selma. “We got our CPR certification, so if something happens outside of here, we can help.”

“I didn’t know that you could use a mask to help give breaths in CPR,” she added.

Other campers, like Jordan Ellis, developed aspirations for a job in medical care.

“I’ve never pictured myself as an EMT or a paramedic until I came here,” said Ellis, 12, of Clayton. “I never thought I would enjoy something this much.”

Her favorite part was the simulations, Ellis said. “I really liked the EMS ambulance simulator that we did,” she said. “It was very fun to see and experience what EMS people do on a daily basis.”

The weeklong program allows campers ages 12 to 17 to learn about the EMS field while also developing critical skills.

“This is the first time that we have offered a weeklong camp just specifically for EMS,” said Brittany Baker, lead paramedic instructor. “They went through a full course to learn the basics of CPR and first aid.”

By the end of the camp, the young people have their certification in CPR and understand basic first aid, from how to stop bleeding to how to administer an EpiPen.

Baker, who works at JCC, wants to Johnstonians to know about emergency medical care and the skills that can save lives. “I do a lot of public outreach for our EMS program,” she said. “I try to visit schools throughout the year with our EMS simulation trailer.”

“We try to reach as many youth in the county as we can to teach them and emphasize the importance of how just chest compressions alone could save someone’s life,” Baker added.

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