FDNY EMT Graduation Ceremony celebrates new graduates and welcomes home a veteran EMT

February 19, 2019

The Department held a graduation ceremony for 170 Emergency Medical Technicians on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn.

The graduation was a homecoming for one graduate. EMT Donna Jaworski had previously served as an FDNY EMT before leaving the Department in 2003 to raise her family. She was also a September 11th first responder, having worked at the World Trade Center site during the rescue and recovery effort. Last year, she decided to come back to the job she loved.

“I loved this job and always had, but I left to help take care of my family. I didn’t have time for a full time job, so I decided to spend my time training others how to do the job I loved. I taught EMTs elsewhere for 16 years because I could not stay away from this job. It is a calling and I was born to do this, it is who I am,” said EMT Jaworski, who graduated as Valedictorian of her class. “This job is always evolving and there is always room to grow. The Academy challenged me and made me realize there is always more you can learn.”

FDNY Emergency Medical Technicians graduating from FDNY‘s probationary training program have trained for 14 – 16 weeks (depending on EMT certification when hired) at the EMS Academy. They have reached the highest standards of pre-hospital care and endured rigorous training in every aspect of their jobs as Basic Life Support providers. Their comprehensive curriculum includes training in anatomy and physiology, multi-systems trauma, emergency vehicle operations, counter terrorism task force drills, mass casualty incidents, and specialized medical and trauma scenarios. They have developed their critical lifesaving techniques even further, with field experience during their clinical rotations.

“EMTs are out there doing difficult work on the front lines for this Department, and we all know how critical you are to the FDNY’s mission of protecting our city,” said acting Chief of Department John Sudnik.

Another graduate, EMT Justin Granados, is also a 2015 alumnus of the FDNY Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety. There are currently 62 FDNY High School graduates working for the FDNY and 51 of those alumni members are serving in our EMS.

“The training at the Academy was great and I received a lot of encouragement from the instructors and my squad as well. We all inspired each other to push forward and continue to be better during the Academy and beyond,” said EMT Granados. “My family is proud of me and I plan to participate in every opportunity that the FDNY offers me."

Several foreign languages are spoken by this diverse group of new Paramedics, including, Spanish, Cantonese, Italian, Polish, French, Portuguese, and Greek.

The new EMTs will be assigned to units throughout New York City.

“FDNY EMTs respond to medical emergencies 24 hours a day – 7 days a week – no matter the conditions, no matter the dangers,” said First Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “They are there for patients in cardiac arrest or those who have been seriously injured. They care for people involved in terrible accidents, victims of assault and other crimes, they respond to help children who are sick, mothers giving birth, seniors in need of urgent care, victims removed from fires, and they treat their fellow first responders when they are injured as well.”

For photos from the event: click here.