FPTC celebrates public safety educational equipment upgrade

Never has there been more of a need for medical and public safety personnel. The shortage of nurses, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical technicians has never been greater, and with the aging population of the United States, these career fields will only continue to grow.

Florida Panhandle Technical College has provided education for nursing and public safety careers for over 50 years, with LPN (Licensed Practical Nursing), PCT (Patient Care Technician), CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), Phlebotomy and Hemodialysis, along with Law Enforcement, Correctional Officer, Emergency Medical Technician and Firefighter I, among others.

FPTC recently had the good fortune, driven by quality personnel working behind the scenes, to qualify for a grant to acquire an ambulance simulator, enabling a robust learning environment in which medical personnel, who must tend to patients and perform critical procedures in a moving vehicle under stress and duress, the opportunity to experience a life-like mock-up of this scenario, under safe and monitored conditions.

Using artificial intelligence, and computer-aided cutting-edge technology, this simulator enables a stressful educational experience under safe conditions, for a more well-rounded and educated student outcome.

On Monday, August 9, from 4 to 5 p.m., the FPTC campus will host an open house and ribbon cutting to celebrate and officially unveil the equipment. Beginning at 4 p.m. on August 9, FPTC staff, along with Washington County School District personnel, members of local law enforcement, public safety personnel and governmental figures will enjoy a tour of the new facility, along with refreshments.

Superintendent Joe Taylor, members of the Washington County School Board, and the FPTC administration and staff invite the public to attend the ribbon cutting and experience the equipment and enjoy all that is offered at FPTC.

For more information about this event, or to find out more about the offerings of FPTC visit the campus at 757 Hoyt Street in Chipley, call 850-638-1180 or visit their website at www.FPTC.edu.