WHEELING, W. Va. (WTRF)

The director of West Virginia Northern Community College’s EMS program has been placed on an elite commission.

Linda Steele is one of only 50 people in the nation to serve on the EMS educators collaborative.

The nine-month study brings together educators in the field to address concerns about the curriculum used to teach EMTs and paramedics.

Steele is assigned to a group addressing mental health concerns.

She says not only does it focus on the mental health of patients, but also the providers.

“If they have a bad call or if they have a string of bad calls, or if they’ve got a lot of stressors in their lives at that time, it all combines with the stress of the job,” Steele said. “So that’s one side of the coin we’ll be looking at—making sure providers have access to wellness resources.”

WVNCC is going to offer a Mental Health Resilience class at all three of its campuses.

Several area fire chiefs have already said it will be an excellent resource for their members.

The class will be free of charge.