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PPM trains and equips EMTs internationally Mary Paramore
Joe Woods, chief operations officer at Paramedical Personnel of Maryland (PPM), said the most frequent question he gets about the company is the meaning behind two Latin words that are incorporated into its logo: Semper Praestro. “Semper Praestro means ‘Always Available’ and at PPM we are truly always available,” Woods said, noting that the company has national and international reach. More than 800 instructors and medical personnel are affiliated with PPM, and the company has been called on to provide training in Nigeria, Honduras and Ecuador, as well as personnel during Hurricane Kartrina and the disasters on 9/11. Semper Praestro was the impetus behind moving the almost 20 year old business to 343 Granary Road in Forest Hill, company founder August “Joe” Becker told a group of local dignitaries who gathered recently for a grand opening ceremony and tour. Training has been the foundation of PPM -- the state’s largest private safety training center -- since its inception in 1990. PPM certifies instructors on behalf of the American Heart Association, the National Safety Council and the American Health and Safety Institute. At first, center status reflected PPM as an entity, rather than a business with a physical address. Instructors taught and continue to teach students at Harford Community College (HCC), local businesses and at other locations. “For quality control, every instructor is required to be affiliated with a training center,” Woods explained. PPM provides emergency and industrial training, CPR, first aid and home and family courses, such as pet CPR and babysitter safety. In 1998, PPM added staffing. PPM provides emergency medical personnel on stand-by at concerts and sporting events and during potentially dangerous industrial operations, as well as staffing for clinics and emergency operations response teams and centers. In 2005, PPM opened a 4,000 sq. ft. facility in Bel Air to serve as a base for its staffing service, and included four classrooms and a small retail space to sell emergency medical and rescue supplies. Woods said, “We realized we were missing a big opportunity to sell something to each person we were training and sending out the door. We never thought it would take off and be this big.” This fall, PPM relocated to a 4,500 sq. ft. space that integrates the training, staffing and sales operations offered by PPM. The floorplan includes one classroom for up to 30 students and a second classroom for up to ten students, and greatly expands the space dedicated to supply sales. Woods and Becker purchase supplies and specialized clothing wholesale and say their retail prices are cheaper than those found at other emergency medical and rescue supply stores. Sometimes, PPM makes no profit at all. Woods said, “Joe and I always had a hard time taking a profit from Harford County’s fire departments and its volunteers. We won’t do it.” PPM is pursuing a license to purchase firearms wholesale, to permit them to resell them at or near cost to the area’s law enforcement agencies. Becker said, “We won’t sell firearms in the store.” At the ribbon cutting, Becker said he was particularly proud of a new partnership PPM has with HCC to offer an emergency medical services training, from basic emergency medical technician (EMT) to paramedic. Kathy Archer, Allied Health Coordinator for HCC, elaborated. “We have partnered with PPM for years to provide CPR and First Aid training for students at the college. We recognized they provide quality training and we didn’t want to compete, so we partnered,” Archer said. “For about two years, Joe and I have discussed partnering on a paramedic program so people didn’t have to leave the county to get the education. We also wanted a flexible program, so people could come and go as they needed or as life happened.” The result is a module-based, four-to-five semester program that will enable students to attain certifications throughout their training. Students who complete the first module, which Archer said takes about a semester, receive the EMT-Basic credential. Students can then enroll in the second module, which takes two semesters, to earn EMT-Intermediate certification. Students who complete the third module, which takes about semester, earn Paramedic credentials. The certifications are offered through HCC’s continuing education department, but Woods has dreams for students to be able to earn associate’s degrees, as well. He believes the county cannot provide fire and EMS services through volunteers indefinitely. “When it comes time to hire people, it will be neat to have a home-grown kid who got his education here, too. We have to crawl before we can walk,” he said.
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