A large contingent of Pennsylvania College of Technology students is set to assist the Little League Baseball World Series medical team when sports fans around the world focus on Williamsport in late August.
Students studying to become dental hygienists, paramedics and physician assistants will lend their hands and gain valuable experience during the 11-day championship that draws 16 teams and thousands of fans to the Little League Baseball World Series Complex, just a few miles from Penn College’s main campus.
Eleven students in the college’s paramedic technology and emergency medical services majors are scheduled to volunteer in the stadiums, where they’ll stand ready to help tend to spectators’ emergency health needs. They work under the guidance of licensed paramedics from Susquehanna Regional Emergency Medical Services and Susquehanna Health. Dr. Gregory R. Frailey, emergency physician and EMS medical director for Susquehanna Health/Susquehanna Regional EMS, and medical director for the college’s paramedic and physician assistant programs, provides oversight for paramedics throughout the event.
The 27-member senior class of physician assistant students will help to staff the infirmary in International Grove, the residential area of the World Series Complex where Little League teams are housed. The 28 students will work 12-hour shifts, remaining on hand in the infirmary throughout the day and evening to provide urgent care to players and their coaches. They will be supervised by licensed physician assistants from Penn College’s Physician Assistant Program, who work under the leadership of the Little League World Series medical director, Dr. John Boll, as well as Dr. Edward A. Gusick, sports medicine specialist for Susquehanna Health.
Interacting with professionals from other health care disciplines – including Boll, Frailey and Gusick, as well as athletic trainers and the Susquehanna Health nurses who staff the infirmary overnight – is counted among the many benefits students receive during their time at Little League.
“The LLWS provides an incredible international stage for our health science students to gain valuable health care and community service experience right across the river in South Williamsport,” said Edward A. Henninger, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “Each year, our health and allied health students are granted the extraordinary opportunity to play important roles in the care of both participants and spectators alike.”
The Penn College Dental Hygiene Program will provide student volunteers to assist Oral Health America with educating children about the dangers of smokeless tobacco use. OHA is a national nonprofit organization working to educate Americans about the importance of oral health to overall health and well-being.
The emergency medical services and paramedic technician student volunteers are: Mariah E. Barner, of Loganton; Sarah E. Carl, of Eagles Mere; Michael F. Fedele II, of Orefield; Adam N. Finkelstein-Diaz, of Stroudsburg; Eli R. Henninger, of Shunk; Kaitlin M. Loury, of Rockaway, N.J.; Louis J. Mazzante IV, of Montoursville; Jacob C. Neff, of Canton; Loren M. Newman, of Wingate; Timothy F. Schwartzer, of Bensalem; and Lakotah S. Waltz, of Pleasant Gap.
The physician assistant student volunteers are: Natalie M. Aikens, of Altoona; Alana S. Androvette, of Williamsport; Rochelle M. Blue, of Northumberland; Jesse L. Carroll, of Williamsport; Mecca M. Chenier, of Williamsport; Jennifer J. Chestnut, of Williamsport; Rebecca A. Chubirka, of Montoursville; David J. Covert, of Williamsport; Alicia L. Dettinger, of Brogue; Chase E. Duckwall, of Needmore; Abigail M. Gesselman, of Mifflinburg; John T. Helmus, of Danville; Cavan R. Irvine, of York; Brian D. Kramer Jr., of Williamsport; Madeline A. Lusk, of State College; Loreal L. McCarthy, of Montoursville; Lance McCary, of Paducah, Ky.; Rachael J. Minium, of Montoursville; Jessica A. Pettitt, of North East, Md.; Joshua D. Ridder, of Williamsport; Anthony Rosario, of Williamsport; Leslie J. Schafferman, of Williamsport; Blaine J. Sinz, of Chicora; Hannah B. Slack, of West Rutland, Vt.; Nicholas W. Splitt, of Sunbury; Matthew J. Stoker, of Lewisburg; and Robert A. Thompson, of Harrisburg.
To learn more about health sciences majors at Penn College, call 570-327-4519 or visit www.pct.edu/hs.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.