Willowbrook senior wins Emergency Medical Technician competition at State conference

Willowbrook senior Joseph Egan won 1st place in the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) competition at the 2016 HOSA - Future Health Professionals State Conference, which took place from March 9 to 11 in Decatur.

Egan competed with Hinsdale Central High School senior Matthew Slonoff, and they are enrolled in the EMT program at Technology Center of DuPage. As the EMT champions, they are now eligible to compete in the HOSA International Leadership Conference, which will take place from June 22 to 25 in Nashville, Tenn.

Preparation for the EMT contest included assembling a response jump bag, studying several sections of the EMT curriculum and practicing 11 skills, performed according to the National Standard Curriculum. The two students had to take a comprehensive written exam and then perform a scenario before the judges. The scenario Egan and Slonoff were given during competition was that of a badly injured motorcycle rider. They had to respond appropriately, stabilize the scene, remove the helmet, identify life threats and then prioritize and treat the patient. They also were judged on how effectively they communicated with each other, the assisting caregivers and the test proctor.

For more information about HOSA, go to www.hosa.org.