Skip to main content

Part of UT Health San Antonio

School of Health Professions, UT Health Science Center San AntonioSchool of Health Professions, UT Health Science Center San Antonio

Part of UT Health San Antonio

Give
Search

Quicklinks

School of Health Professions logo

Logins

  • LiveMail
  • Canvas

Schedule/Calendar/Catalog

  • Class Schedule
  • Catalog
  • Academic Calendars

Health/Wellness

  • Student Health Center
  • Needlestick Guidelines
  • Needlestick Incident Report
  • Insurance
  • Counseling Services

Technology

  • Service Desk
  • Password Reset
  • TechZone (Computer Store)

Other

  • Student Directory

 Close Quicklinks

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Programs
  • Admissions
  • Tuition and Financial Aid
  • Research
  • Student Life
  • Alumni

You are here

  • School of Health Professions News
  • Emergency Health Sciences graduates 50th SAFD paramedic class

Emergency Health Sciences graduates 50th SAFD paramedic class

Time & Date

Thursday, September 7, 2017


By Kate Hunger

The Department of Emergency Health Sciences graduated 29 San Antonio Fire Department paramedic trainees on August 11, making the program's 50th graduating class. 

The City of San Antonio contracts with UT Health San Antonio to provide paramedic training to firefighters. The first class graduated in 1974.

Before paramedic training arrived in San Antonio, EMS services were minimal, with funeral homes sending employees in hearses or makeshift ambulances to emergency scenes, said Lance Villers, Ph. D., department chair. 

"EMS as a profession in the United States was very young and San Antonio was one of the first cities in the country to have an organized training program for this new level of emergency provider called a paramedic, " he said. 

The first paramedic training class came about through a partnership of several groups, including UT Health San Antonio's Department of Orthopedics, San Antonio College, and SAFD. 

The City of San Antonio began offering ambulance service staffed by firefighters trained as paramedics. 

"It's come a long way fairly quickly, but it does show that EMS is still a relatively young health profession," Dr. Villers said. "It really was modernized during the Vietnam War. The training the medics received on the battlefield eventually began to transfer to the civilian world."

The current course consists of 1,100 hours over seven months of training, five days a week. 

"The level of knowledge and training and medication and equipment that they now have to be proficient in is light years ahead of that first class in 1974," Dr. Villers said, adding that the SAFD now has more than 800 certified paramedics, the highest number in its history. 

 

 


Share this news item
Map image of UT Health San Antonio location

UT Health San Antonio
School of Health Professions

7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, TX 78229
Contact Us
Admissions: 210-567-6220

1-866-802-6288

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Maps & directions
We make lives better ®

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also called UT Health San Antonio, is a leading academic health center with a mission to make lives better through excellence in advanced academics, life-saving research and comprehensive clinical care including health, dental and cancer services.

Web Privacy | Links from websites affiliated with UT Health's website (uthscsa.edu) to other websites do not constitute or imply university endorsement of those sites, their content, or products and services associated with those sites. The content on this website is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Health information on this site is not meant to be used to diagnose or treat conditions. Consult a health care provider if you are in need of treatment.