Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (CEP, Inc.) was recently awarded a grant from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health to create Rescue Divas Industry Camp for Girls, which will introduce young women to Emergency Medical Service careers. This is a one year planning grant, which will serve as a guide for a second year implementation grant. Both nationally and locally, there is a growing shortage of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs); add in Northwest Wisconsin's steadily increasing aging population and you realize a creative solution to this problem is needed.

The Bayfield-Ashland Counties EMS Partnership, which includes Memorial Medical Center, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Bayfield-Ashland EMS Council, and CEP, Inc., will coordinate on the planning of Rescue Divas Industry Camp for Girls in the Ashland/Bayfield County area. This project seeks to address the shortage of EMTs in the region by focusing recruitment efforts on a "non-traditional" demographic. Rescue Divas addresses the fact that only 30% of the nation's EMTs and paramedics are females. By providing early, exciting, and inclusive career exploration for girls, Rescue Divas aims to increase the number of women entering this career field, especially in Northwest Wisconsin.

Rescue Divas will focus on high school aged girls to promote Emergency Medicine as a career.  Rescue Divas will be a week long, residential camp for high school girls interested in exploring Emergency Medical careers. Throughout the week, girls will participate in exploratory, hands-on activities that focus on a variety of skills needed in Emergency Medical careers.  There will be off site visits to ambulance halls, police dispatch centers, firehouses, etc.  The girls will experience a wilderness rescue scenario, along with a simulated high ropes rescue.  During the week, they will earn certification in First Aid, CPR, and AED use. Additionally, they will spend a day exploring firefighting as a career, as this often goes hand-in-hand with Emergency Medicine.

For more information about Rescue Divas, please contact Carrie Miller, Project Manager, at 715-682-9141, ext. 200 or  cmiller@nwcep.org.