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Connecticut Teens Drive Town EMS
Darien EMS-Post 53 provides all Basic Life Support coverage to the town of Darien, Connecticut. Their members, including their drivers, are all in high school. Their supervisors and colleagues from other agencies call them "young adults," although most of them are legally minors, under age 18.
Darien EMS President Stephen Bloom said experienced adults train and supervise the teens, but the teens respond to calls on their own. They staff three ambulances 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with one or two adult supervisors on duty. If they need paramedics they contract the call out to Stamford Emergency Medical Services.
Bloom said they run about four calls per day, for a total of about 1,500 calls per year, to Darien and to the neighboring town of Norwalk, which sometimes calls them for mutual aid.
"I know it's tough for those who haven't heard of it to understand," Bloom said. "We've had to work twice as hard to get half the respect." But in Darien, the program has long been accepted.
Bloom said the program began 35 years ago as a Boy Scouts Explorer Post, providing first aid for local sporting events. "From there it's taken off," he said.
Students from Darien High School can apply to participate in the independently operated, four-year program. Then they progress through five roles: Candidate, Radio Roomie, Rider, state-certified EMT, and then Driver, "usually by their Senior year," their web site says.
Bloom said this arrangement is possible because Connecticut only requires EMTs to be 16 years old, not the usual 18. As for driving, he said teens in Connecticut normally get permits at age 16 and licenses at 16 and a half, but the organization has an exemption with the state so that the EMTs may drive alone at age 16.
Before driving an ambulance, the students complete the organization's in-house, two-month ambulance driver program. "We have one of the toughest driver courses in the area," Bloom said.
The teen ambulance drivers then use the same procedures to respond to calls as other EMS agencies, determining when to use lights, siren, speed, and right of way. "It's exactly the same," Bloom said.
Bloom said the students' training compensates for their youth and lack of experience.
"I would put our drivers up against any ambulance drivers in the state or anywhere," he said. "Our driving record is very clean." He said they do not have trouble getting insurance coverage.
He added that the organization, which is 100 percent volunteer, supports itself through their own fundraising and through generous community donations. He said the town has offered to arrange public funding, but the program determined it was in their best interest to remain private.
The Darien Volunteer Fire Department does not handle EMS, but often works alongside the teen responders. "It's a very unique town," an assistant chief said. "Our system just happens to work." He preferred not to comment or give his name but said, "We're happy to have the volunteers that we do in this town." He said the fire department is more traditional about age. They have 16-year-olds who participate as explorers, but they don't do anything "dangerous," such as driving, until at least age 18, the assistant chief said.
Stamford Emergency Medical Services praised the organization. Their career paramedics work with Darien EMS regularly to provide Advanced Life Support.
"The medics who work there regularly enjoy it," said Operations Manager Edward Podgorski. "They are enthusiastic and they're obviously doing this because they want to. It's a great environment."
He said the young adults are great at listening, following procedures, and are eager and willing to learn, which can make them even easier to work with sometimes than more established EMTs who can be less open to new perspectives or changes.
Podgorski said he's never seen patients raise concern about crews of 16-17 year-old responders. "They conduct themselves as professionals so they get treated as professionals," he said.
He said the organization has no added limitations, except that the young EMTs may be experiencing things in a stressful environment for the first time. "Our paramedics do have to be cognizant of that, and maybe explain things a little more," he said. "But they build up a rapport with them and after a call they discuss what transpired, what went well and what they could do better."
He said he has no concerns specific to driving. "They really don't go out there until they're ready to be put in that environment," he said.
"It's a well-run, established organization," Podgorski said. "They're on to something, because in this day and age it's very difficult for people to volunteer due to monetary reasons and time. They don't seem to have any problems with recruiting."
The program is also valuable because it develops the teens into professional adult responders. "There's a lot to be said about that," Podgorski said. But he agreed the system may not work in every community, and that not all 16 and 17 year-olds are safe candidates. He said it works in Darien because of the training, the clear procedures which leave little decision-making up to the students, and selective admittance to the program.
Bloom said there are many EMS programs where young adults assist, but he knows of no other program operated by high school students.
"All I can attest to is our own organization," he said. "We've been a success story for 35 years."
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