Fourteen students graduated from the White County Office of Public Safety’s Fire Services Division. It is their second class of Emergency Medical Technicians.
The ceremony, which was held on December 18th at the Cleveland Worship Center in Cleveland, Georgia, celebrated the completion of training for 14 EMT Students. With the completion of 290 hours of classroom instruction and 36 hours of clinical training, students completed the Georgia EMS and Trauma governed Psychomotor Exam. The next step for the graduates is the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician Certification.
The Training Academy
Beginning in August of 2023, the White County Fire Services Training Academy held classes at White County’s Emergency Operations Center. Led by Firefighter and Paramedic Shad Sosebee under the direction of Fire Services Training Captain Lanier Swafford, the majority of the graduates are White County Firefighters wanting to continue their education to better respond to medical-related calls.
Medical-related emergencies make up 65% of calls responded to by White County Fire Services. The school was also available for firefighters in surrounding counties. The following departments also had participants in the class:
Gainesville Fire Department
Union County Fire Department
Major accomplishment
White County Fire Service’s EMS Lead Instructor, Shad Sosebee, shares about the class: “I consider this a major accomplishment for each of these graduates. They have been hard at work since August and their efforts are already paying off.” Sosebee continues, “We are pleased to have a 100% pass rate for the Psychomotor Exams. The students are now eligible to obtain their National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician certification. Many students already tested and passed the exam.”
Benefits to Community
David Murphy, Director of White County Public Safety, comments: “This is a major triumph for White County to receive 14 more highly trained first responders who can provide lifesaving medical services to the citizens they serve.” Murphy continues, “None of this would be possible without our dedicated staff and community partners who have worked together to make this class a success.”
Graduating Class of Fall 2023
Emergency Medical Technician
Brian Aina
Christopher Fairholt
Brian Faith
Randy Galavan
Lon Gilbert
Carson Harrell
Candace Humphrys
William Lapree
Bo Medlock
Dustin Mowrey
Jason Ravan
William Sexton
Kevin Sims
Terry Sosebee
Before the conclusion of the ceremony, a special recognition took place for one of the graduating members.
Recognition of Bo Medlock
On November 20, 2023, Bo Medlock, his father Jim, and some friends set out on a deep-sea fishing trip. During the trip, Jim experienced a medical emergency where he began going in and out of consciousness. 911 was called and Bo began assessing his father. Once back at the dock and awaiting the ambulance’s arrival, Jim went into cardiac arrest. Bo administered CPR on his father until first responders arrived. After several resuscitation attempts, Jim regained a pulse. After a lengthy hospital stay, Jim returned home and is expected to make a full recovery.
During the ceremony, Jim was called on stage to present his son, Bo Medlock, with a Lifesaving Commendation Award.
