The Career Academy is partnering with Henry County Public Safety to offer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification courses to Henry County high school students. The initiative was launched in response to a growing shortage of emergency services personnel in the area.
“We are in an extreme deficit for EMS providers in the area,” she said. “It seems to be an ongoing problem, not just for our area, but everywhere. EMTs—there are just not enough of them to go around. I think it’s great getting the students in here young to fill those voids in the healthcare system.”
Hubbard has worked in EMS for 13 years, 11 of those as a paramedic. She previously taught the paramedic program at Patrick & Henry Community College.
Career Academy Coordinator Brittany Brummitt said the school system offered EMT certification about a decade ago and saw a new opportunity to meet both student and community needs by bringing it back.
“They wanted to bring it back just because of the need in the area for emergency responders,” Brummitt said. “EMT is kind of the basis for everything. If you’re wanting to do public safety—like firefighting—you need to have EMT as well in our area.”
The course is open to juniors and seniors and can be completed in one academic year or split between the junior and senior years. Upon completion, students are eligible to sit for the National Registry EMT certification exam.
The Career Academy will work with Henry County Public Safety to offer students classroom instruction, hands-on practice and real-world field experience.
Students are “required to complete field hours through the program,” Brummitt said. “So that’s where the partnership with Public Safety comes in. They’re actually required to go and ride on the ambulance with them to get that actual contact field experience, as well as what they do in the classroom.”
Brummitt said the partnership benefits both the students and Public Safety.
“We had conversations with Public Safety, and they are wanting to have a strong recruitment force,” she said. “Obviously with our partnership, they’re training these kids, so they can hire them right after high school to go and work in the field with them. And there is a need in the area for more workers in that department.”
Real-world experience is a focus of the program, as it is with many Career Academy offerings.
“Here at the Career Academy, we want to prepare them for whatever future career experience they’re going into and give them that real-world experience,” Brummitt said. “Yes, they’re going to get that certification, but they’re also going to get that real-world experience, going out with Public Safety in the field to prepare them for their future careers after high school.”
Aiding that preparation is an ambulance simulator in the classroom, which Brummitt said is designed to offer a realistic environment for training.
“The simulator is meant to simulate an actual ambulance. They have the stretcher and everything, so they’ll get to practice doing their lifts. All of the oxygen and those things are placed similarly to an ambulance,” she said. “The storage space gives them an idea of how it would be placed in a real-life situation—where you would be sitting, the space confinements, and working in those tight areas.”
Hubbard said the course prepares students for a vital, high-stakes role.
“On the EMT level, of course, learning how to care for our ailing community and emergencies, to be able to deal with people who are having the worst day of their life and actually being able to make a difference in that time,” she said.
Students will learn how to take vital signs, communicate with patients, administer certain emergency medications, and perform lifesaving interventions.
“They’re there to save a life and to transport to appropriate facilities,” Hubbard said.
But beyond the technical training, Hubbard said the course also teaches students how to be compassionate, effective communicators.
“It’s not only teaching them how to be EMTs, but it’s teaching them how to be good people—how to be able to talk with different people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and just getting their hands out there and making sure that healthcare is the field for them,” she said.
Interest in the course is already high. The class can accommodate 18 students, and Brummitt expects it to reach full capacity in its first year.
Looking ahead, she said there may be room to expand public safety offerings.
“Going forward, we’re really excited about the participation and interest in the program,” Brummitt said. “We should be at full capacity, but if fire is an option in the future, we would like to look at that and continue to strengthen the certifications within the program—not just the EMT, but to see what else we can offer to the students.”
Beyond public safety, the Career Academy continues to grow its course offerings.
“Last year, we added an additional course—our certified medical assistant,” Brummitt said. “We’re looking at continued growth opportunities for the 2026–27 school year. Right now, we have cybersecurity, certified medical assistant, HVAC/industrial maintenance, EMT, agrisciences and cosmetology.”
She added that the Career Academy, which has an application process, is becoming increasingly competitive.
“There’s a need for the students. You have so many students now who have interests beyond just going into a college field after graduation,” she said. “Our career and technical programs are a way to grow those interests. This is just another opportunity for them, because so many students enjoy that hands-on learning experience.”
Hubbard said she hopes the EMT program will not only introduce students to public safety as a career, but also inspire them to volunteer, thus helping to address the needs.
Volunteerism “is definitely on the decline,” she said. “I have a special place in my heart for volunteers. I think these kids will be great to go out here and volunteer and get some community hours as well. I think it’s a great thing for the community.”
