EMTs, paramedics graduate from AMR’s Earn While You Learn

A first responder is congratulated by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal for saving a life. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi, Baystate Health Regional EMS Medical Director Dr. Seth Kelly, Police Lt. Eleni Barbieri and AMR Regional Director Patrick Leonardo look on.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — American Medical Response, an emergency medical services provider, graduated a class of emergency medical technicians and paramedics from its Earn While You Learn program.

The ceremony was hosted at AMR’s Springfield location on Cottage Street during National EMS Week.

The keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, recalled an experience he had several years ago, riding along with an ambulance crew responding to a call in Springfield. He said a man had fallen and become wedged between his bed and the wall, and his wife could not lift him. “It was a beautiful summer night. The windows were open … and the game was on in the background on the radio,” Neal remembered. The crew had Neal ask the man his name to judge his cognitive state. “I leaned into him and said, ‘Can you please tell me your name.’ And he said, ‘Are the Red Sox still ahead?’” After a laugh from the crowd, Neal said, “We knew he was going to be okay.”

Neal said first responders are required to be “polite, kind and always empathetic,” no matter the situation. “Time and again, as we’ve witnessed what EMTs have been able to do, as they have been able to mitigate and calm some of the emotions that surround the challenging situation in which they find themselves,” Neal said. He said it requires “an extraordinary amount of patience.”

Neal said everyone in the room was “united in our quest for better and more affordable health care for the American people.” He said life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past 125 years. Because of that, many patients that EMTs and paramedics respond to have dementia and other maladies associated with aging. Often, those patients rely on Medicare and Medicaid. He said he would fight against the cuts to those programs that are expected in November.

Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno said AMR has been there for Springfield through the tornado, gas explosion and coronavirus pandemic. When he addressed the graduates, he referred to the city’s police and fire services and said, “You’re part of the team. You’re part of the partnership. People are looking to you for guidance, to let them know, ‘You’re going to be okay.’”

Self-care was a running theme throughout several of the speeches. Sarno said, “You need also to take care of yourselves, too. You have to have those stress relievers — whatever hobby you do, whatever family support you have. And families, thank you for your understanding, because they’re going to see things that you couldn’t imagine. But, yet, they’re going to be there to save those lives.”

State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez congratulated the graduates, describing them as “new unsung heroes.”

Springfield Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi joked that he had been a paramedic longer than many of the graduates had been alive. Both he and Baystate Health Regional EMS Medical Director Dr. Seth Kelly began their careers as paramedics. Calvi told the graduates that emergency services is a field they can parley into several careers.

Calvi also reminded the graduates to take care of themselves. “Don’t let the bad days get you down,” he said. While these emergencies are tragic, they’re not your emergencies.” He told them, “It takes a lot of support from families to do this career.”

Springfield Police Lt. Eleni Barbieri congratulated the new EMTs and paramedics on behalf of Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers. She said, “The work you’re preparing to do truly matters” and it “demands not only skill and knowledge, but compassion and professionalism.”

The Earn While You Learn program pays people while they train to become EMTs and paramedics. AMR Massachusetts Regional Director Patrick Leonardo said the EMTs go through a three-month program and are contracted to work full-time for AMR for one year. Then, they have a choice to go elsewhere, continue with AMR or go into the Earn While You Learn paramedic program. After graduation, 99.9% are guaranteed to get a job in the field.

Sarno praised the Earn While You Learn program, and said, “The diversity of the program is very strong.” He added that a substantial number of the people who complete it are from Springfield.

In the beginning, Leonardo said it seemed like it would be complicated to attract people to the program, but after the first class graduated, new people heard about the program through word of mouth. Multiple people have enrolled after a family member told them about the program.

After the graduates shook hands and received certificates, the dignitaries and AMR recognized EMS, police and fire personnel from Springfield and Greenfield who saved lives in 2025. Many of the honorees had previously graduated from the Earn While You Learn program. Several Springfield cardiac patients who had been saved, and one paramedic delivered a baby.