Golden LEAF Awards $500,000 to Martin Community College's EMS Program

On August 1, 2024, Golden LEAF awarded Martin Community College $500,000 to support the expansion of their EMS Simulation Center. This funding will be used for high-fidelity patient simulators, virtual emulators, and audio-visual recording platforms. These new resources will provide high-quality training and is expected to draw an increasing number of students to the program.

MCC's Director of EMS Programs, Robert Whistler, says that this grant is a "transformative step" for the EMS program. He states, "With the upgraded simulation center, we will be equipped to provide our students with the most advanced, hands-on training available, ensuring they are fully prepared to respond to the critical needs of our community." Whistler expresses how the community will benefit from this investment, saying, "This investment in education is an investment in the safety and well-being of everyone we serve."

MCC's EMS Program consists of four programs: Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced EMT, and Paramedic. The courses in the EMS Programs are designed to address the needs of local emergency-services agencies, healthcare providers, and the public, focusing on emergency patient care in pre-hospital and nontraditional settings.

Golden LEAF is a nonprofit organization established in 1999. Golden LEAF works to increase economic advancement in North Carolina's rural and tobacco-dependent communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation.