WSCC News is a presentation of West Shore Community College in partnership with Mason County Press and Oceana County Press.
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
MANISTEE — Emergency medical workers from Mason and Oceana counties will receive critical training and engage in professional networking during a conference this weekend at the Little River Casino in partnership with West Shore Community College.
“Little River has been doing this conference for close to 20 years, and the college came alongside for the second year to expand programming,” said WSCC Director of EMS and Fire Programs Dan Yost, who is also the Grant Township Fire Chief in Oceana County. Yost is a paramedic instructor/coordinator. “We are co-hosting this event to line up speakers and sessions. It’s essentially for EMS providers in our region but throughout the state. It’s cool to have something like this in our area.
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“It’s relevant, practical training for the EMS professionals in Michigan. It will be a good time for networking. That is a big key of it, too, is just meeting other professionals and seeing how they do things differently.”
Approximately 150 EMS workers are slated to attend the conference, and about one third of them are from Mason, Oceana and Manistee counties, said Yost. Approximately 16 vendors will be on site. “Multiple speakers from all over the state — who are experts in their area — will do different sessions. For instance, one of the nurses from Aeromed is coming in to do a couple sessions.”
WSCC Director of EMS and Fire Programs Dan Yost, who is also the Grant Township Fire Chief in Oceana County.
A pre-conference day is set for Thursday, Jan. 29, and the full conference is slated for Friday and Saturday in the casino’s conference center.
“We have continuing education credits for all levels of EMS licensure, but part of our pre-conference is a trauma course that multiple area law enforcement (officers) are attending. It’s an all-day trauma class that the State of Michigan is putting on.”
The casino provides discounted hotel accommodations for the attendees, and instructors are donating their time. The vendors on site provide most of the cost for meals. Little River also donates the conference space and hotel rooms for the speakers. “Any remaining costs, the college helps cover some of that,” said Yost.
“We’re excited about the growth we’ve had from last year to this year, and hopefully we will continue that growth. It’s an asset for not just our region but the whole state.”
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