A New Breed of EMS First-Responders Graduate in Newark

For a group of Newark emergency medical service workers who just finished their training, they are the first in a new class of first responders. 

The inaugural Newark EMS Corps, it is hoped, will be the tip of an effort to help with the shortage of EMT workers..

Family and friends packed into the Parsonnet Auditorium at Newark’s Beth Israel Medical Center on Thursday, Feb. 27, as 11 people, ages 18 to 26, graduated from the inaugural Newark EMS Corps after completing a five-month, paid emergency medical technician (EMT) training program.

Newark’s EMS Corp trains young people to prepare them for careers in emergency medical services. The program, with training provided by RWJBarnabas Mobile Health, allows trainees to earn national EMT certification and job placement assistance. 

The program also provides trainees with a monthly stipend for pay, free tuition course materials, life coaching, mentorship, and physical fitness training. 

The graduation ceremony opened with remarks by Darrell K. Terry Sr., CEO of Newark’s Beth Israel Medical Center. 

“This is the first group that will pave the way for everyone that follows,” said Terry Sr. “None of this is done alone. We all rely on our friends, family, and teams. A program like this is the right thing for everyone.”

In attendance during the ceremony were Dr. Kofi Taha, the National Implementation Director of the Public Works Alliance, who reflected on the program and its graduates. 

Some of the graduates even shared their own stories on their transformations over the past five months. 

“Most people don’t expect people like us to make it through this kind of program, but we did, all 11 of us,” said Chyna Weathers, one of the first cohorts of Newark’s EMS Corps. 

Mike Gibson, Founder of the EMS Corps, was the keynote speaker for the event. Gibson shared his own background growing up in East Oakland, CA, from his time in a juvenile detention center before moving on to the Alive & Free/Omega Boys Club to find a better path in life.

“Programs like this bring hope and opportunity for people who had a lack of opportunities in their community,” said Gibson. “The EMS Corps allows these people to serve their communities and change the trajectory of their lives with personal transformation.” 

Gibson founded the EMS Corps program in 2011 in California. Newark’s first graduating class is a first for the program on the east coast. The Corps is meant to help mitigate the shortage of EMS workers.

“First line medical responders at the forefront of it all were overworked at the height of the pandemic,” he said. “We operated our program in California during the pandemic while launching another in New Mexico. Of course, social distancing made it harder to go through with training, but we were able to make it work by following the proper guidelines. 

“Trainees wore masks and were able to continue using resources like our program’s defibrillators and mannequins.”

More EMS Corps programs like Newark’s will be launched along the east coast including Atlanta, GA. Gibson also hopes to be in talks with New York City, the next year to expand the program. Another is also running in New Orleans, LA. 

“I’m proud to have seen this program grow to where it is now,” said Gibson. “We’re going to have 15 more of these in California and throughout the nation. And if we can make it happen here, we can make it happen anywhere.”

Graduates received their certifications from Newark’s EMS Corps and RWJBarnabas staff. The ceremony closed with remarks by Robert Clark, OYN CEO; Cherise Dawson and John Dorn, RWJBarnabas Instructors; Tish Johnson Jones, ED Greenlight Fund; and Jasmine Joseph-Forman, OYN CPO.

“It does something to my spirit to see young people sitting in a place they were told they couldn’t, whether they be people from the hood or first-generation college graduates,” said Forman.

 “It takes the right people, the right opportunity, and the right investment to see them here now.”

Applicants for the program must live in the greater Newark area, have a high school diploma or equivalency. You can apply online at newarkemscorps.org. Dates for the second cohorts will run from April 21 through Sept. 15 in Newark.