DeKalb County gains 17 new paramedics thanks to new paid-on-the-job training

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - DeKalb County leaders celebrated the graduation of 17 new paramedics Friday in Chamblee thanks to their new paid-on-the-job training in partnership with American Medical Response.

The program lets EMTs move up in their careers without financial or time constraints, according to AMR.

The program was started to help with paramedic shortages seen in DeKalb and across the country.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly one-third of all EMTs quit in 2021 and 55% of part-time paramedic positions went unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates.

According to a deputy chief with AMR, DeKalb County is too busy to be short-staffed.

“DeKalb County is one of the busiest EMS servers and counties in the southeast region,” said Deputy Chief Wilend Meadows. “DeKalb is a very large demographic and complex population. With that, these paramedics give us the ability to provide and expand our services of special, advanced level care.”

The paramedics that graduated on Friday did 14 months of training.

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