NYU Langone Health’s Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Program celebrated the accomplishments of 12 new graduates at a ceremony held May 21 at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. The tuition-free program, funded through the Beyond Bridges initiative, is open to NYU Langone employees and residents of Sunset Park and surrounding communities. It prepares students to become first responders, who provide basic life support care and help transport patients to area hospitals.

“The common thread shared by each one of these students sitting here tonight is that everyone has stated that they wanted to do this to help others, and that really is the hallmark of what it is to be a healthcare provider,” Danielle Moulton, EMT, an emergency medical services manager and the EMT Program administrator, said at graduation. “They’re all prepared to be that person on the other end when someone calls 911, whether it’s a car accident on the highway, a child at home having an asthma attack, whatever the situation may be.”

The EMT Program launched with its inaugural class in the fall of 2023. During 18 weeks of training, with classes offered in the fall and spring of each year, students receive instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), anatomy and physiology, cardiology, pharmacology, drug administration, medical and trauma emergencies, emergency childbirth, and mass casualty incident (MCI) hazmat operations.

Upon successful completion of the program, students are eligible to take the New York State Department of Health Exam for EMT-Basic Certification and can go on to work for NYU Langone’s emergency medical service team, other hospital-based 911 ambulance services, private ambulance interfacility companies, and municipality-based 911 ambulance services, including the New York City Fire Department.

Among the spring graduates is Diana Perez, a Bay Ridge resident who currently works as a patient services associate at the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, performing a range of administrative tasks, such as checking patients in and out, scheduling appointments, and handling payments, all while maintaining patient privacy and ensuring high-quality service.

“It’s a different career, completely different from what I’m doing now, but I’m going to be able to help others, and that’s what matters,” said Perez, a single mom who is proud to set an example for her 9-year-old son. “We are in New York, so we are always going to find a person that needs help. As EMTs, we are going to be saving lives, we’re going to be taking care of moms giving birth, and it’s an amazing feeling that I’m going to be able to do that.”

Leslie Chillogalli, a lifelong resident of Sunset Park, graduated with the first cohort in December and began working for NYU Langone’s ambulance services in April. Her passion for healthcare was ignited when she served as a volunteer with AmeriCorps New York during the pandemic.

“It was a very good way for me to learn about public health and social work,” Chillogalli said. “I was working with more low-income families in Spanish-speaking communities, mostly around Sunset Park, and I could relate to what the families were going through and what they needed.”

She now hopes to use her experience as an EMT as a stepping stone into a career in nursing. As an EMT, Chillogalli is thankful to be able to continue serving her Brooklyn community and says being bilingual has been an asset to both herself and the patients she treats.

“I’ve had many calls where I can see the relief on patients’ faces when I ask them, ‘Do you speak Spanish?’ And then I can communicate with them in their own language,” she said. “They are more open about everything that’s going on with them and I can feel their sense of relief; that helps me build a relationship and trust with them more quickly. Then when they get to the hospital, I can communicate their situation more accurately to the doctors or the nurses.”

Providing that deep connection to the community is one of the greatest strengths of the program, said Moulton.

“EMS is an extension of the community, so it only makes sense that we provide this education and training to the community itself,” she said. “Being able to have community residents receive this training without any worry of any tuition costs is really important to be a part of this community and serve it as well.”

About the Beyond Bridges Initiative

Beyond Bridges, a collaboration between NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn and the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, enables deep integration of community-based and clinical efforts to galvanize the health and wellbeing of diverse populations across the Sunset Park community. This dynamic model for community-wide health improvement in Sunset Park addresses social determinants of health and key drivers of health inequities. The Beyond Bridges initiative has already united leaders from across the institution, the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, and some of Brooklyn’s most influential and embedded community-based organizations.