Woodburn Fire District Receives Federal Grant for Training of New Paramedics – Support District’s ALS Program
The Woodburn Fire District has received a $179,000 federal grant to support paramedic training for both current and future firefighters, enhancing the district’s Advanced Life Support (ALS) program. The training grant helps to ensure that paramedics are on duty 24/7 across the district’s service area, which includes Woodburn, Gervais, and the surrounding 75 square miles of north Marion County.
In 2023, the district had 3,561 responses, with medical emergencies accounting for about half of these incidents. The cost for paramedic training, which includes over 1,200 hours of classroom instruction, clinical rotations, and an internship, is approximately $49,000 for each firefighter EMT that pursues the advanced training. Following certification, new paramedics undergo a comprehensive field training evaluation under the mentorship of experienced firefighter paramedics.
Fire Chief Joe Budge emphasized the importance of maintaining paramedics on-duty at all times, noting that it fulfills a promise made during the 2018 local option levy campaign that initially funded the ALS program. The operating levy and support of the ALS paramedic program was renewed by voters in 2024 with an 83% approval rate.
The effectiveness of the fire district’s ALS program is highlighted by the high instances of achieving Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) in cardiac arrest patients that is nearly twice the national average for this metric. This success is attributed to continual staffing with highly trained and experienced firefighter paramedics and EMTs, state-of-the art emergency medical equipment, and a close working partnership with Woodburn Ambulance Service, the private ambulance company that provides transport to hospitals.
The positive ROSC outcomes measure the success of the district’s ALS program’s and reflect a significant impact on the community that motivates emergency responders to maintain the highest possible standard of service. “It is the best feeling in the world when a cardiac arrest patient that we have resuscitated checks out of the hospital and makes a full recovery”, commented Woodburn Fire District Paramedic Ryan Johnson who has been involved in at least two successful cardiac “code-saves” this year. Johnson is quick to point out that he and his crew are only one link in the chain of survival for cardiac arrest patients that also involves 9-1-1 dispatchers, ambulance transport crews, emergency room doctors and bystanders willing to perform CPR.
Earlier this month, chain of survival participants in a recent code-save event, gathered at the fire district main station to celebrate with the latest Woodburn resident to be the recipient of their life-saving efforts.