Bedford Township’s Fire Department is entering an agreement with Dundee Community Schools to help students who are entering EMT and paramedic training get some onsite experience.
The Bedford Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously (7-0) to approve the agreement. Prior to the vote, Bedford Chief Robert Vanklingeren offered information about the proposed partnership to the board.
“This agreement is basically a common agreement that happens (as a) pre-hospital program, EMT program, paramedic program, and (offers) a site where they do clinicals,” Vanklingeren said. “Bedford has been a site for clinicals for many different EMT and paramedic programs.”
Vanklingeren said that Bedford’s own EMT program also sometimes sends students to other sites to gain different experiences and to get different levels training in rural and urban areas.
The agreement was first passed through legal channels with Township Attorney Phil Goldsmith, who then discussed the agreement with the township’s insurance company to ensure that all aspects are covered and adequately addressed.
“Essentially, the agreement is for us to go into Dundee schools and to allow for their students to ride into Bedford for clinicals,” Vanklingeren explained.
Goldsmith said that Chief Klingeren presented originally presented him with a proposed agreement, which Goldsmith amended to cover legality. Goldsmith then asked Township Clerk Trudy Hershberger to send the updated proposal to the insurance company, and after discussion, the proposal was reviewed and tweaked.
“We’re satisfied, and the insurance company is satisfied,” Goldsmith said. “If we enter into similar agreements with other school districts, we can use this as well.”
Hershberger explained that other area school districts are entering into similar agreements with fire departments, such as Frenchtown Township.
Trustee Todd Bruning proposed the motion to vote, which was support by Trustee Joe Gore.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.