Roane State’s Fentress County Campus will host its first-ever first responder recruitment event Friday.
Fentress County Campus Director Cheryl Tays said local first responder departments are always looking for employees. Tays said the event is designed to help address the first-responder shortage across the Upper Cumberland.
“It kind of goes hand in hand with the awareness of the programs that Roane State has, but we want to answer the call to the shortages that we are experiencing in this area in both health science and first responders,” Tays said.
Tays said the school offers several health science programs and certificate programs for emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Tays said local first responder departments will be in attendance to give students a sneak peek into what career opportunities are available.
“The rescue squad and the ambulance service are gonna have their trucks here so people can take a look in there and ask questions about how to use the equipment,” Tays said. “Some other health science programs from Roane State are actually gonna be here as well. We’ve got respiratory therapy coming, we’ve got the phlebotomy program coming, and then our CNA program that actually meets here at the Fentress County Campus, and everyone will have some type of interactive component that people can try out to see if it’s something they would enjoy doing.”
Tays said a big part of her job is to recruit students to the programs. Tays said recruiting goes beyond trying to attract seniors in high school to the programs.
“We are hoping for a big turnout, and not just your typical traditional student that’s coming straight out of high school, but just community members that might be looking to do something different,” Tays said.
Tays said she hopes the recruiting event will not only address the first responder shortage but also benefit the community. The event will run Friday from 8:30am-11am.
