Daytona State College adds paramedic certification at Flagler campus to address shortage
By Danielle Prieur
March 12, 2025 at 6:35 AM EDT
Daytona State College has announced it will offer a full paramedic certification program starting in May at its Flagler campus aimed at helping to alleviate a shortage of first responders in the area.
The four semester program features hands-on training in advanced cardiac life support and critical patient care among other areas of emergency medicine.
To qualify, students must complete a mandatory EMT course and receive their EMT certificate by the first semester of the program.
About 97% of graduates get hired directly out of school to pursue careers at local fire departments and hospitals as there’s such a need in Flagler, said Ken Moorhouse, assistant chair of the Emergency Medical Services Department at Daytona State College.
“The population growth up there is growing faster than the state of Florida. They also have a more geriatric or older population, so they tend to be a higher user of emergency services,” said Moorhouse.
Some departments, including Palm Coast Fire Department and Flagler County Fire Rescue, will even pay for employees to attend for free.
Moorhouse said being a paramedic is an incredibly rewarding profession and that Daytona State makes it accessible for people currently working in the field, returning students, and veterans to get their certification.
“You actually get to make a true impact on people's lives, whether it's helping someone with a behavioral emergency or someone having a heart attack or delivering a baby or someone involved in a car accident, you genuinely are making differences in people's lives. It is a very, very rewarding career,” said Moorhouse. "The pay is decent, but it also is one of the few career paths that still has pension opportunities, which for long term, that's a great financial stability.”
In Central Florida, Brevard, Flagler, and Volusia counties are currently experiencing critical shortages of paramedics, which experts warn could put residents in danger.
Florida isn’t the only state experiencing a shortage of paramedics. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics estimates that by next year, there could be as many as 37,000 paramedic and EMT job openings throughout the country.
Factors including COVID burnout and early retirements brought on by the pandemic have made it hard to keep up with the demand for these positions.
For his part, Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a 20% increase in pay for entry-level state law enforcement, and a 25% increase in pay for veteran state law enforcement and all state firefighters in this year’s state budget to attract and retain more first responders in Florida.
That’s a total of $118.3 million in proposed pay increases.
The four semester program features hands-on training in advanced cardiac life support and critical patient care among other areas of emergency medicine.
To qualify, students must complete a mandatory EMT course and receive their EMT certificate by the first semester of the program.
About 97% of graduates get hired directly out of school to pursue careers at local fire departments and hospitals as there’s such a need in Flagler, said Ken Moorhouse, assistant chair of the Emergency Medical Services Department at Daytona State College.
“The population growth up there is growing faster than the state of Florida. They also have a more geriatric or older population, so they tend to be a higher user of emergency services,” said Moorhouse.
Some departments, including Palm Coast Fire Department and Flagler County Fire Rescue, will even pay for employees to attend for free.
Moorhouse said being a paramedic is an incredibly rewarding profession and that Daytona State makes it accessible for people currently working in the field, returning students, and veterans to get their certification.
“You actually get to make a true impact on people's lives, whether it's helping someone with a behavioral emergency or someone having a heart attack or delivering a baby or someone involved in a car accident, you genuinely are making differences in people's lives. It is a very, very rewarding career,” said Moorhouse. "The pay is decent, but it also is one of the few career paths that still has pension opportunities, which for long term, that's a great financial stability.”
In Central Florida, Brevard, Flagler, and Volusia counties are currently experiencing critical shortages of paramedics, which experts warn could put residents in danger.
Florida isn’t the only state experiencing a shortage of paramedics. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics estimates that by next year, there could be as many as 37,000 paramedic and EMT job openings throughout the country.
Factors including COVID burnout and early retirements brought on by the pandemic have made it hard to keep up with the demand for these positions.
For his part, Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a 20% increase in pay for entry-level state law enforcement, and a 25% increase in pay for veteran state law enforcement and all state firefighters in this year’s state budget to attract and retain more first responders in Florida.
That’s a total of $118.3 million in proposed pay increases.