Laurel Ridge Community College celebrated the graduation of the first cohort of students from the newly expanded Paramedic Program at the Fauquier Campus on Monday.

The expansion was prompted by a request from the Fauquier County Department of Fire and Rescue that noted members previously needed to travel to Middletown to upgrade their credential from EMT to paramedic.

Students attended classes in a hybrid format with one in-person session per week and received clinical training through a partnership with Fauquier Health.

The next cohort of paramedic students began their studies this week and the program has already doubled its capacity from 12 to 24 students with 5 more on the waitlist.

Paramedics remain in demand and students interested may be eligible to have their tuition and fees paid through the G3 Program.

According to Laurel Ridge, there are currently 19 openings in the area and 7,269 openings nationally with a median hourly wage of $30 per hour.

(Photo of Laurel Ridge EMS Director R.J. Montaño (left) and Paramedic Program graduate Tanner May via Laurel Ridge)