18 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JUNE 2018
EMT right,Learning students Andrew Mahaeir, left, and Hannah Triquet, center, practice their skills in providing chest compressions and rescue breathing with supplemental oxygen. Instructor Tom Dunfee, at
looks on.
lifesaving skills at the Nassau BOCES Adult Career & Technical Education Program
Students in the Emergency
Medical Technician (EMT)
course in the Nassau BOCES
Adult Career & Technical Education
Program in Westbury are learning the
essentials needed to render lifesaving
care and maneuvers in a pre-hospital
setting. It’s the first step to becoming
first responders in a variety of emergency
situations. It’s the first time
Nassau BOCES has partnered with
Northwell Health to offer this course.
“I always wanted to help people,”
said EMT student Hannah Triquet,
22, of Elmont. “I love this course.
I’m learning how to handle trauma
and medical emergencies. I want to
be a first responder.” Hannah added
that this is an “awesome” class,
with the instructors sharing real-life
experiences, and “not just what’s in
the textbook.”
Tom Durfee, of Levittown, a certified
EMT instructor/coordinator for 25
years, has been teaching this particular
course since 1997. “The students
in this class are very receptive and
energetic,” he said. “It’s a good first
step for them, whether they want to
go into emergency medical services
or any other aspects of medicine.”
The Emergency Medical Technician
course, offered in partnership with
Northwell Health, is comprised of
didactic presentations, team-based
learning activities, practical skills
sessions, patient simulation encounters,
standardized patient encounters, and
clinical and field experiences. The
program prepares students to effectively
render all available techniques
of basic life support within the scope
of care for a New York State (NYS)
Certified Emergency Medical Technician.
Students who successfully
complete all aspects of the program
will be eligible to participate in the
NYS and National Registry practical
and written exams.
Student Andrew Mahaeir, 22, of
Merrick, recently graduated from
Stony Brook University and has
plans to go into the field of medicine.
“I thought this course would be a
worthwhile opportunity,” he said. “I
want to be an EMT first, then maybe
go into emergency medicine as a
physician. I’ve always taken an interest
in medicine and helping people, and
this class has been very helpful.”
After completing the course, students
will have also achieved credentials in
the following:
• American Heart Association Basic
Life Support
• FEMA Introduction
to Incident Command
Systems (ICS 100) for
Healthcare/Hospitals
• FEMA Introduction
to National Incident
Management System
(NIMS 700)
• Hazardous Materials
Response, Awareness
Level
For more information about the
Nassau BOCES Adult CTE program,
visit www.nassauboces.org/adulted,
call 516-622-6950 or email
Adultreg@nasboces.org.
So You Want To Be An
EMT?
It takes a special kind of person
to be an Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT). Here are
some tips from EMT Instructor
Tom Durfee:
• Be self-motivated
• Have an interest in helping
others
• Be community-minded
• Possess an aptitude for the
medical field
• Be reliable and physically
capable – it’s a demanding job
• Be compassionate.
EMT students Andrew Mahaeir, left, and Hannah Triquet,
center, practice their skills in providing chest compressions
and rescue breathing with supplemental oxygen.
Instructor Tom Dunfee, at right, looks on.
By LAURA CURRAN
Nassau County Executive
One does not have to look far to see
the environmental damage caused
by single-use plastic bags. They
clog storm drains, get caught in
vegetation, float in our waters ,
and endanger wildlife. It is almost
impossible to sum up the immense
cost — financial or environmental.
Most all the bags are made with lowdensity
polyethylene, a material that
takes hundreds of years to break down
into microscopic particles. When
multiplied against the estimated 23
billion plastic bags used in New York
State every year, it is staggering to think
most are only used once before being
thrown away. The environmental impact
broadens when we consider that the bags
are made using non-renewable oil.
The wide-scale effects on our local
wildlife are extremely disheartening.
Animals, birds and marine life
frequently ingest the bags thinking
they are a natural food source, such
as jellyfish. Even animals as large as
cows eat the bags that end up on their
grazing grounds. This often results
in fatal consequences, as the bags are
laden with chemicals, indigestible and
cause bodily obstructions.
Protecting Nassau County’s
environment from this problematic
plastic saves oil, electricity and
landfill space while reducing
pollution and saving wildlife. We
have to protect our environment and
to do that we all must play a part.
While the bags are cheap to make,
they still cost retailers and food
establishments about 2 cents each.
This expense is added into the
goods and prepared food you are
purchasing, thus raising prices.
Clean-up efforts around our
neighborhoods, parks and beaches is
costly. Long Island recycling stations
are brought to a halt three times a day as
bags get caught in sorting machinery.
These bags are easily replaced with
biodegradable, reusable bags — a
small step that will have a lasting
positive impact on our county’s
environment while saving our
government much-needed funds.
That is why I am supporting a bill filed
by Legis. Debra Mule (D-Freeport).
With the help of the Nassau County
Majority Caucus, we could reduce
consumers’ reliance on these singleuse
bags. Minimizing the use of
plastic bags is a logical and important
step in keeping our environment free
of the perils of plastic bags and the
dangers they pose to wildlife.
I have great optimism that arising issues
will be addressed and the legislation will
be implemented as soon as possible.
It is time for change.
POINT OF VIEW
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS:
IN THE BAG
An estimated 23 billion plastic bags
annually are only used one once before
being thrown away.
/adulted
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