Rural communities have long faced critical shortages in emergency medical personnel, threatening the safety of residents; Meanwhile, thousands of men and women in the military receive emergency medical training as part of their duties
Klobuchar and Senator Mike Enzi worked to include legislation to streamline civilian health care training in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which passed the Senate last week and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law; The Veterans to Paramedics Transition Act would make it easier for veterans to secure jobs as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and nurses and help reduce the shortage of much-needed emergency medical personnel in rural communities across the country
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that a bill she introduced to increase job opportunities for veterans has passed Congress and is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Rural communities have long faced critical shortages in emergency medical personnel, threatening the safety of residents. Meanwhile, thousands of men and women in the military receive emergency medical training as part of their duties. Klobuchar and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) worked to include legislation to streamline civilian paramedic training in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which passed the Senate last week and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The Veterans to Paramedics Transition Act would make it easier for veterans to secure jobs as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and nurses and help reduce the shortage of much-needed emergency medical personnel in rural communities across the country.
“Our veterans return home with significant medical training and the need for good jobs. At the same time, there is a great demand for high-quality medical personnel in our communities,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation that I helped lead will better ensure access to safe and reliable care and will provide our veterans with a clear career path to put their battle-tested skills to use.”
Most Army combat medics are currently certified as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) at the basic level. When these veterans return to civilian life, however, their military-based medical training is often not counted toward training and certification as civilian paramedics. Many existing programs require all students to begin with an entry-level curriculum. For veterans, this means spending extra time and money for training that, in effect, they have already received.
Klobuchar and Enzi’s legislation would accelerate and streamline the transition to civilian employment for returning veterans who already have emergency medical training. Specifically, the bill would authorize federal grants for universities, colleges, technical schools, and State EMS agencies to develop an appropriate curriculum to train these veterans and fast-track their eligibility for paramedic certification. A standard paramedic training program can take one to two years to complete.
This legislation has been endorsed by the American Ambulance Association, the Minnesota Ambulance Association, and the National Rural Health Association.
Klobuchar has worked in a bipartisan manner to modernize G.I. Bill benefits for our troops and to strengthen funding veterans’ health care, including service related injuries related to Agent Orange exposure. She has also authored bipartisan bills on behalf of our nation’s veterans and their families to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, expand job training and employment opportunities, cut red tape and wait times for veterans scheduling appointments at VA Medical Facilities, and to reduce veterans’ homelessness.
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