The EMS Academy is striving to provide the highest quality of education for all levels of EMS providers. To do so, the EMS Academy utilizes knowledgeable and experienced Instructional staff from a variety of pre-hospital environments. Our instructor pool currently includes individuals with more than 50 years of experience who are active in rural, urban and critical care environments.

Student resources have been a primary focus in building a successful training center. With the support of the Cleveland Clinic Health System -- Western Region, a state-of-the-art education center has been constructed with two integrated classrooms, four laboratories and a computer lab housing 30 student computers. There also has been an investment in the Blackboard web-based learning system to augment the student's educational opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting, creating a virtual classroom.

This year, our EMS schools from the east and west markets have officially merged into one region-wide EMS Academy under the leadership of Dan Zezena. Previously, Dan had served as the director of the west EMS Academy. This coming together is a great example of teamwork that will benefit the organization in many ways, including more training opportunities. It will bring together resources, staff, equipment and programs and allow EMS candidates to participate in joint activities, including continuing education, outreach programs and specialized training. And the popular EMS publication, “Siren,” will now feature stories about EMS activities region-wide. To accommodate training candidates coming from east and west suburbs, the new EMS Academy will maintain its two training sites at Euclid and Fairview hospitals.

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