JEFF HUNTLEY Keyport First Aid Cadet program volunteers ready themselves for an emergency call. Pictured (l-r) are Keyport High School seniors Simerjit Singh, Kristen Figaro, Jennifer Leimbach, program adviser Ken Krohe and Jeffrey Garcia.
KEYPORT — The First Aid Squad wants to instill the values of volunteerism in the borough’s youth, and the adult first aiders think they’ve found the way in an offshoot cadet program for teens.
The program not only trains high school students ages 16 to 18 to be first aiders, but it also is designed to encourage them to stay with the diminishing fold of emergency response volunteers.
Only in its infancy, the cadet contingency has already recruited 14 eager Keyport High School seniors. The cadets even have a group captain and an adult adviser, Keyport First Aid 1st Lt. Ken Krohe.
Headed by 17-year-old high school senior Kristen Figaro, the cadet group is now organizing fund-raisers and opening bank accounts to hold money raised for equipment, uniforms and other essentials. They’ve kicked off fund-raising efforts by sending out a letter asking the public for anything they can spare to help the junior association get started and thrive. Other events and drives will be planned for the future, such as different types of sales and local events, Figaro said.
Figaro’s experience is unique and vast for a teen, which is why she was chosen as the cadet group’s captain. Licensed as a lifeguard, she currently holds certifications in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid for the professional rescuer, and preventing disease transmission.
Part of a family of doctors, Figaro will be attending Penn State University in University Park as a nursing major. She plans to get a master’s in the field and teach nursing on the college level, so this is an especially valuable educational tool for her.
In fact, Figaro calls volunteer experience "invaluable medical and business training in preparation for college." She’s enthused about setting up bylaws for the organization, doing some fund raising and actually going on calls.
Her sentiments were echoed by fellow cadets. Keyport High School senior Simerjit Singh, who is interested in becoming a doctor, said that throughout and after college, he would "love to continue as a Keyport first aider."
"They are the people who started me," he said. "I would be happy to come back to them and help as much as I can." Singh wants to attend Rutgers University’s pre-med program.
Jennifer Leimbach, 17, has a different take on the issue. "We’re learning a lot and getting a close look at real live situations," she commented. "Even if this ends up to be something I don’t pursue in life, it will have given me valuable lessons and experience that will stay with me forever."
Recruiting for the future
Disenchanted with the dwindling ranks of volunteers, Krohe set his mind to "recruiting the future of Keyport’s First Aid Squad at a young age."
"Maybe they’ll stay interested enough in the program to stick around," he said.
Krohe consulted with the high school and formed the cadet group just over a month ago.
As it turned out, the group is now comprised only of high school seniors, but in the future Krohe hopes to spark the interest of juniors and sophomores as well (as long as they are 16 or older). Keyport High School educates teens from Union Beach, so, in essence, the program is preparing teens in two communities to gain firsthand emergency service experience.
According to Krohe, there are two components to the borough’s cadet training: community-based experience, consisting of hands-on classes and organizational meetings; and state certifications in preparation for actual emergency management technician (EMT) licensing. The goal right now is for the teens to be prepared to take the EMT test when they’ve completed training and it’s offered in the area.
Some of the cadets already have CPR certification, but those who do not will be given an in-house, six-to-eight-hour training course to become certified. Within the next couple of weeks, the teens will actually be "running calls" with EMTs. Krohe says that the cadets can assist an EMT after receiving some limited training. He added that the teens are eligible for complete state testing and licensing as long as they are at least 16 years old and sponsored by a municipal first aid organization that will confirm that they are or will be members.
Krohe noted that the state Department of Health EMT training mandated for licensing consists of about 150 hours of classroom training, practical testing drills and 10 hours of hospital time. In addition to the licensing, the teen cadets will get credit for community service that’s required to pass their health class.
"The training is getting more involved every year," Krohe noted. "This is why having the young people work with us is such a great idea. Many people can’t keep up with the state mandates. As a result, volunteer service involvement has declined over the years. We need to think about the immediate and long-term future. These cadets could be Keyport’s future First Aid Squad."
Once an EMT license is awarded, EMTs must take about 60 to 70 hours’ worth of core courses and electives over a three-year period in order to keep their certification.
The supplemental Keyport-based field training for the teens is well under way. Just recently they participated in an extrication exercise. A real vehicle simulating the after effects of a drunken-driving accident was placed on a scene with dummies inside the car serving as accident victims. Some of the cadets were given extrication tools to use while others worked on the "patient."
The teens, supervised by Krohe, also hold regular meetings and even learn how to handle a volunteer organization from the business end.