By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

“Are you okay? He’s not breathing. Call 911; get the AED!”

A group of Liverpool High School students worked to revive their patient through rescue breaths, shocks from an automated external defibrillator and chest compressions performed to the beat of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.”

“I just kept singing that song in my head,” said Divya Duraisamy, a junior.

Thankfully, the “patient” on the floor of a classroom at Northern Onondaga Volunteer Ambulance Inc. was just a CPR training mannequin, but the seven members of the NOVA Explorer Post soon will be certified to use their skills in a real emergency.

Certified American Red Cross instructor Bill Moore formed the LHS-NOVA Explorer Post in October 2016. Exploring, an offshoot of the Boy Scouts of America, allows young people to look into potential careers and learn life skills. Often, businesses and community organizations collaborate to create an Explorer Post, as LHS and NOVA have.

Seven LHS students meet each month at NOVA to practice CPR, learn first aid techniques and discuss careers in the medical field. This spring, the students are hoping to shadow real EMTs and paramedics from NOVA.

“I thought it would be fun, and it would look good on my resume,” said Aliah Debejian, a junior. “I thought the ambulance ride would be interesting.”

Beyond the intrigue of the ambulance ride-along, some of the Explorers are preparing for a future in medicine. Bill Moore’s daughters, Kristina and Kennedy Moore — respectively a junior and a senior — are interested in studying nursing. Emily Heberger, a senior, plans to become a physical therapist.

“Being around aspects of the medical field is very interesting,” said Emily, who took a personal safety class at LHS prior to joining the NOVA Explorer Post. “I thought the shadowing would give me an idea of what I would see in that setting.”

At the Explorer Post’s March 7 meeting, Hanna Dombrowski, the group’s lone 10th grader, and Aliah Debejian presented two logos they had designed for the group  to vote on. The logo will be made into patches to be worn on the black polo shirts the students will don while shadowing NOVA members.

Next month, the Explorers will roleplay emergency scenarios and practice what to do if someone is bleeding, choking or having another kind of medical emergency. By then, the students should know which NOVA members will be taking on shadowers.

While the Explorers will get a first-hand look at what a real paramedic does every day, NOVA and other EMS agencies could benefit as well.

“Once they’re 18 [and] out of high school, they can actually join the ambulance corps and test to be an EMT or a paramedic,” Bill Moore said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for EMTs and paramedics is projected to grow about 24 percent by the year 2024. That’s equivalent to 58,500 new jobs.

“It’s a win-win,” Moore said, “because you’re giving back to the community. As they get older, they may then want to become a member.”

Moore said any LHS student can join the NOVA Explorer Post. To learn more, email Bill Moore at [email protected].