SR-700-001-02
F:\Data\Admin\Affiliation Agreement.doc
City Council Meeting 5-22-01 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Agreement with El Camino Community College District to allow the
Fire Department to Continue Providing Internship Opportunities for Fire
Department Employees.
Introduction
This staff report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to
enter into an agreement with El Camino Community College District that will
enable the City?s Fire Department to continue to provide internship training for
department personnel enrolled in the paramedic training program.
Discussion
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services EMS Agency has
established licensing and certification requirements for Emergency Medical
Technicians (EMT)-Paramedics. One of the requirements is that EMT-
Paramedic students must gain clinical experience in the field by performing
internship training at a facility that is an approved emergency medical services
provider.
The Paramedic Training Institute (PTI), which is the Department of Health
Services Paramedic Training Program, is the program that the City?s Fire
Department has utilized since the inception of the paramedic program. The Fire
Department intends to maintain this training relationship.
In July of 1996, PTI began an affiliation with El Camino Community College
District, resulting in the initiation of the accreditation process for PTI. This
affiliation enabled PTI to offset costs of training, decrease student fees, and offer
thirty-two college units for successful program completion.
As an affiliate of the Paramedic Training Institute, El Camino Community College
District is initiating a Field Internship Agreement with provider agencies, in an
effort to formalize and clarify the relationship between the training program and
the provider agencies. These agreements are mandatory to allow PTI to become
an accredited training program, which is necessary for their affiliation with an
accredited college.
The City would realize an immediate benefit from entering into this agreement
with El Camino Community College District in that it would allow the Fire
Department to retain the ability to intern our own paramedic students.
Financial/Budget Impact
No Budget impacts are anticipated.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manger to enter into
an agreement with El Camino Community CollegeDistrict to allow the City?s Fire
Department to continue to provide internship opportunities for the Fire
Department personnel enrolled in the paramedic training program.
PREPARED BY: Ettore A. Berardinelli, Fire Chief
Captain Carl Bjerke, Paramedic Coordinator
Sandy Proulx, Administrative Staff Assistant