BENNINGTON — Bennington Rescue Squad recently promoted five crew members to new positions of responsibility within the organization.
This included field training officers, lieutenants and a captain. Newly promoted trainers include emergency medical technician Alex Szabo and paramedic Katie Fox.
New lieutenants include paramedic Kyle McLean and critical care paramedic Marion Norris. Bennington Rescue’s newest captain is critical care paramedic Jeff Reed.
As Bill Camarda, interim executive director, said in a statement that the field training officers help guide new hires. These new hires might be a new EMT apprentice with no previous experience, or an EMT, advanced EMT or paramedic with significant experience.
Szabo started with Bennington Rescue as an EMT apprentice in June 2020 and is now a student in the Vermont Technical College paramedic program. She is expected to graduate later this year and start her own paramedic field training. In addition to training duties, Szabo helps coordinate fleet management.
Fox started with Bennington Rescue as an EMT apprentice in December 2020. Fox is a recent graduate of the Vermont Tech paramedic program and Bennington Rescue Paramedic Field Training & Evaluation Program. In addition to training duties, Fox is active in the organization as a new educator. She also is part of internal workgroups to help streamline Bennington Rescue’s operations, specifically in areas of documentation and uniforms.
Lieutenants, also known as shift leads, Camarda said, oversee the shifts they work and handle vital coordination efforts for Bennington Rescue.
McLean started with Bennington Rescue in August 2022 as a paramedic. He is also a graduate of the Vermont Tech’s paramedic program and gained experience in Connecticut, working in emergency medical services prior to joining Bennington Rescue. Since joining the crew in Bennington, McLean took on coordination of clinical supplies and is active as a new educator.
Norris started with Bennington Rescue in May 2022 as a critical care paramedic. Norris has prior experience working in EMS services in Alabama and Alaska since 2016. Norris will be assisting as a coordinator on the quality improvement team responsible for reviewing patient, clinical data, and developing targeted education to help grow other providers’ skills and abilities.
Camarda described the captains, also called EMS supervising officers by the national EMS management association, as on-the-road resources for the Bennington Rescue crew.
“They provide supervision to all levels of providers and officers in the field, including directing shift activities, acting as a safety officer, developing the lieutenants to be ready to be captains, and mentoring crew members,” Camarda said in a statement.
Reed is the newest captain. He joined Bennington Rescue’s crew in February 2019 and became a trainer in February 2020. Reed started in EMS in 2009 as an EMT, then became a paramedic in 2014, graduating from the Hudson Valley Community College paramedic program. He served agencies in New York and Vermont. Camarda described how Reed will oversee the Field Training & Evaluation program. In this program, new personnel are onboarded through a series of classroom, simulation, real-life experiences and testing to be ready for the field as a Bennington Rescue crew member.
“The great work of these crew members as exhibited by these promotions, continues to build upon the history of service Bennington Rescue Squad has within our community,” Camarda said. “These are highly engaged members of our team with both a passion to help others grow and help us be a more efficient operation. It only makes sense to invest in our crew and their professional development. Over the next few weeks, we will schedule all these newly promoted crew members for additional training aimed at having difficult conversations when necessary, developing others, supporting a healthy work environment to reduce the chances of burnout, and on-the-job educational strategies to help the entire crew always keep learning.”
The Bennington Rescue Squad is a nonprofit group providing emergency medical services to the towns of Bennington, Woodford and most of Shaftsbury.
