By Charlene Navarro & Sam
We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Modestus John-Baptiste, NRP, as our new Prehospital Education Instructor at the UVI MSC!
Mr. John-Baptiste is a Nationally Registered Paramedic with over 28 years of experience in emergency medical services. He brings a wealth of knowledge as a seasoned AHA and EMS instructor, and we are honored to have him join our team.
Mr. John-Baptiste expressed his sincere gratitude for his new appointment, saying “First of all, I would like to thank the Director, Ms. Navarro, and I would also like to thank the President of the University of the Virgin Islands, Dr. Safiya George, for giving me this opportunity to help the community as far as Pre-Hospital Education goes. This includes CPR, which is BLS and also Advances Cardiac Life Support, ACLS, and also PALS. Our intention is to start an EMT programme, hopefully, in January of next year.”
Mr. John-Baptiste also expounded on his experience in the field stating, “I’ve worked for more than 20 years with a local EMS system. I started from basic EMT and worked my way all the way to Paramedic, and eventually I retired after 20-odd years working with EMS. I also was the Assistant Chief for St. Croix Rescue. I worked at St. Croix Rescue for 20-odd years, also.”
When asked about his plans and hopes for the community in his new positions, Mr. John-Baptiste responded, “My plan is to, eventually, start a paramedic programme on the island of St. Croix. We will start, initially, with the Emergency Medical Technician Programme at the Simulation Lab.”
“I want to encourage the community to take advantage of this. For years we’ve been struggling with getting the EMT Programme off the ground, and so that the government would recognize and employ more EMTs – we do have a shortage of EMTs and paramedics on the island. So, my goal with this new job is to get more EMTs onboard and help the local community as far as quick response and emergency medical EMTs go.”
Starting this fall, Mr. John-Baptiste will be offering AHA-certified training in:
- BLS (Basic Life Support)
- Heartsaver CPR AED First Aid
- ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support)
- PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support)
And coming this Spring, he will be leading our EMT Training Program — a fantastic opportunity for those looking to begin or advance their career in emergency medical services.
Register online today to secure your spot in one of our upcoming classes at https://UVI.edu/MSC
Join us in giving Mr. John-Baptiste a warm welcome to the UVI MSC family!
