Maya McFadden photo
Saving a gun shot victim at the Shack during a Yale EMT training program.
Aspiring Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) Andreanna Adkins, Iijonnia White, and Kimah Davis kneeled down to aid a plastic-dummy “gun shot victim” on Elm Street — inside a West Hills community center, as part of their training to save a real life down the line.
This trio of New Haveners are among 15 students who were a part of the Shack’s first-ever EMT training program in partnership with Yale New Haven Health (YNNH).
“Is this my only patient?” Adkins asked YNNH staffer Paul Ashby. “This is your only patient,” Ashby replied.
Adkins, White, and Davis worked together last Wednesday at the Shack at 333 Valley St. to demonstrate what they’ve learned throughout the 15-week course. They worked through a hypothetical gun shot victim situation for a five-minute rapid trauma assessment.
With a dummy victim in front of her, Adkins’ first step was to call EMS for backup.
While doing so her partner, White, stabilized the victim’s spine.
Adkins gave the victim a few taps to the chest and body to see if the patient was conscious. Ashby revealed: “Your patient’s not responding.”
Next, Adkins did a trauma strip down of the victim to check for any major bleeding.
Ashby informed the team that the victim had major bleeding from a chest wound on their upper left side.
Adkins applied pressure, then dressed it on three sides.
She then requested her team get information on the victim’s past medical history to have a list of any medicines they take.
She assigned the victim a “priority one.”
“What is his skin?” Adkins asked.
Ashby replied: “Pale, cold, diaphoretic.”
Adkins then put a blanket on the victim.
Paul Ashby provides details during gun shot victim demonstration.
“Since he’s not responsive we have to put oxygen on him, about 15 liters,” Adkins said.
Ashby continued to explain the the victim has a shallow breath.
Adkins as a result announced she would insert an Oropharyngeal Airway (OPA).
Adkins reminded her partners to look out for “DCAP-BTLS” meaning deformities, contusions, abrasions, punctures/penetrations, burns, tenderness, lacerations and swelling.
They then moved on to check the victim’s pupils, which Ashby described as “equal but sluggish.”
They checked the top and lower jaw, ears, back of the spine, trachea and jugular veins, clavicle bone, lungs in six different spots, abdomen, and pelvic bone.
The team took note that the victim’s trachea was deviated to the right side.
Finally the trio worked together to roll the victim over to assess for an exit wound. With no exit wound they concluded by applying a C‑Collar to the victim, then prepared to transport them to the hospital.
That was the scene at The Shack, as the three students worked together to save the life of a hypothetical gun shot victim.
These students have been studying at the community center for the past three months in their bids to become EMTs.
For their last class, the students spent four hours learning about human trafficking and how it can intersect with EMT work.
The students learned from a team of Yale paramedics about their experiences in the field and the warning signs to look out for while on the job when it has to do with human trafficking, particularly for minors.
The students learned about the types of trafficking happening around the country, including both sex and labor trafficking.
The EMT training program began at the Shack on May 27. More than a dozen students started but only eight made it through the full program to take the final test, which was administered on Labor Day.
Since May the students have been attending classes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 to 12 p.m. at the Shack.
West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith brought the class on-site to the Shack with the goal of providing urban youth access to well-paid and meaningful jobs.
According to a Data USA report in 2017, 84.7 percent of the EMTs and paramedics workforce were white and 7.25 percent were Black. Of that, 31.1 percent were women and 68.9 percent men.
“We need to see people that look more like us in these fields,” Smith said.
With the help of State Rep. Toni Walker and State Sen. Gary Winfield, Smith landed funds for the Shack to pay for 20 students’ EMT training.
Throughout the program the Shack staff provided the students with free snacks like sandwiches, fruit, and drinks.
“All of your ways are paved,” Smith said.
Students receives certificates of completion for EMT program.
If the students pass their final exam for the course, they will then be eligible to take the Connecticut state EMT practical exam followed by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) national written exam. Once completed, they will be granted state EMT certification by the State of Connecticut and membership in the NREMT.
"I Love To Help People"
Kimah Davis.
New Haven native Kimah Davis, 20, heard about the EMT program on Facebook. She registered to try it out but said she “wasn’t planning to taking it serious.”
She said she has a habit of starting things but never finishing them. However, after the first few classes, she said she gained an interest in medical work.
“I love to help people,” she said.
After the passing of her step-father in June 2021, Davis said she felt she had no purpose in her life, but she wanted to change that to make her step-father proud and to be a role model for her younger siblings who look up to her.
“The classes helped to just not sit around and wait for time to pass me by,” she said.
After each of her classes, she would usually share what she learned with family and friends.
Despite never knowing about the responsibilities of a EMT, Davis now knows it is her dream job.
“I learned so much being here,” she said. “It’s not about my start, it’s about my finish.”
Davis, who is a graduate of High School in the Community, said she was also motivated to finish because of the 2021 passing of her friend Camryn “Mooka” Gayle.
Throughout the months of EMT classes Davis said the students and staff became like a family and helped each other each step of the way.
“Everybody here genuinely wants to see you win,” she said.
In recent years Davis said she had no specific plans for her life and was just “going with the flow” while working at fast food jobs. It didn’t help that she was navigating the pandemic and then was hit with the losses of her step-father and close friend.
“This is life. We got to keep going no matter how hard it gets,” she said. “Now I’ve found my purpose.”
She said it feels good to have her 4‑year-old sister wish her a good day as she leaves for classes in her uniform. And when she returns home she’s met with the question of: “What did you learn today.”
“I’m not stuck anymore. I’m doing this for my step dad and Mooka. Mooka didn’t get to find her purpose, so I’m doing this for my family,” Davis said.
During the last class the students learned about warning signs and things to look out for on the job in even the least suspecting of situations.
The class also learned about the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).
The Yale staffers offered the students brutal honesty about the job difficulties and how important it is to stay sharp despite developing a routine of work.
“When you’re on a call and that little sense says something doesn’t feel right, follow that sense,” the instructor said.
The students were reminded that they are mandated court reporters and that building trust is one of the key roles of their job.
“Even if you’re gonna take a blood pressure and it’s gonna hurt, tell them,” one of the staffers said.
She said this may help victims to feel safe speaking up to you or medical professionals in the future.
Jaday Ogman-Howard.
Hillhouse alum Jaday Ogman-Howard, 19, has had a passion to join the medical field since high school.
The Shack’s EMT program was Ogman-Howard’s fourth certification course she’s taken since graduating high school in 2022. So far she’s taken trainings for a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), electrocardiogram (EKG), and Phlebotomy.
She next plans to take paramedic courses then nursing classes to reach her end goal of being a pediatrician.
“Being from New Haven I know our violence statistics and I want to be a part of the fix,” she said.
Ogman-Howard, who grew up in the former Farnam Courts also called “The G,” said she started off the course rough because she was also working. She decided to put the EMT program first and stopped work.
She recalled the intensity of the class which required the students to take a unit test and assigned online exams and homework throughout the week.
“We got through it with a lot of laughs and jokes,” Ogman-Howard said.
Not only did the class teach Ogman-Howard about what it means to be an EMT, but it “helped to enforce education into my home,” she said. She has several siblings ranging from high school to pre-k-four and said each time she came home from her classes her family would set up “homework time” in the house and do work and read alongside her as she studied for the program. This included her 4‑year-old sibling who she had to make up own homework worksheets for to join in on the make-shift summer school.
Another obstacle was that Ogman-Howard lives with Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and had to deal with medical work during the program. She even postponed surgeries to be sure she could attend classes.
Throughout the 15-week course, Ogman-Howard was hospitalized twice and spent the entire visits doing homework for the course.
She hopes the trainings will prepare her for college to become a pediatrician and math teacher.
During the school year Ogman-Howard works as a substitute teacher.
Yet another obstacle Ogman-Howard recalled was dealing with being in a full uniform for the class while the Shack had no air conditioning in the middle of the summer.
She said the class became a family by making jokes together during the heated times.
“We always gave each other reminders and helped out. There was no “I” in here,” Ogman-Howard said.
Kudos to the young people - it's great that they're becoming EMTs. Sad that this particular type of training is needed in town.