As it has for over the past two decades, the Killingworth Ambulance Association will offer an EMT class this year to all who turn 16 by mid-December, though students who are 17 or younger must have their parents’ consent. Classes are held at the KAA’s Route 81 headquarters and typically run four months, from late August through December, with Monday and Thursday sessions of four hours each and five Saturdays that last from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.

The cost is $1,000, but that figure can be reimbursed. If class graduates are active members with the KAA for six months, half of the cost is returned. If they remain with the KAA for an entire year, they will recoup the entire sum. The 160-hour course is worth six college credits and is highly recommended for persons interested in pursuing medical careers.

For more information, please contact the Killingworth Ambulance Association at (860) 663-2450

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, is a skill that may save the life of someone suffering a cardiac emergency, and it’s one that is easily learned- thanks to the Killingworth Ambulance Association. Each year it offers classes to the public, with no admission cost for Killingworth residents. 

Last August and September, the KAA hosted the American Heart Association’s Friends and Family CPR course each week on Tuesday nights, with classes that lasted 3 ½ - 4 hours each. The sessions were so popular that the wait list extended for weeks.

That caught our attention. This summer we’re hoping to offer the course with a more expanded time frame (July, August and September). Social media posts, notices around town and blasts from the First Selectman's office and KAA website will alert you to classes this summer.

The importance of CPR cannot be overstated. History has shown that early CPR can double or triple the rate of survival by keeping blood flowing to the brain and vital organs until trained medical personnel arrive. For every minute that CPR or defibrillation is not exercised for cardiac arrest, the victim’s chances of survival decrease 7% - 10%. In short, CPR can determine the difference between life and death for victims who are unresponsive. With the help of the KAA it’s a skill you can learn in just 4 hours.

For more information, please contact the Killingworth Ambulance Association at (860) 663-2450

The American College of Surgeons “Stop the Bleed” class is a one-hour course taught by Killingworth Ambulance EMTs and designed by medical professionals to empower the public to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives. The course teaches students how to recognize and control life-threatening bleeding in an injured individual and includes lecture, demonstration and hands-on practice of three techniques critical to saving a victim’s life. It also offers take-home bleeding control kits.

The value of the course was underscored in October 2019 when a state trooper responding to an accident at Middletown’s Vinal Technical High School implemented a “Stop the Bleed” kit to treat what was termed “a catastrophic injury” that involved profuse bleeding. Officials later said quick thinking by the state trooper may have saved the victim’s life.

The KAA first offered “Stop the Bleed” classes in July 2017, making Killingworth the first Connecticut town to have its citizens certified. Today the course is taught in 168 countries, including the United States where bleeding control legislation has been passed in 17 states …and for good reason. Bleeding is the No. 1 cause of preventable death after injury, with 80% of OR fatalities occurring within 24 hours of trauma due to severe blood loss.

“Stop the Bleed” empowers you to go from a bystander to a lifesaver, with more than 5 million people already trained. Remember: The only thing more tragic than death is a death that could have been prevented.