Bell County EMS Training reopens courses to the public

Killeen Daily Herald
By Madeline Oden | Herald
October 4, 2023

A local training center announced it is hosting a training course beginning in October and it is open to the public. Bell County EMS Training has been teaching various lifesaving-aid courses for 11 years and recently reopened after being closed for two years due to the pandemic. The center has courses on EMT, Advanced EMT, Tac Med, first aid and more. Most of the courses run 14-15 weeks and have flexible options such as evening classes. There are no entrance tests required to take the course and payment plans are available. The center also takes the GI bill and MYCAA.

The upcoming course starting on Oct. 16 will cover EMT basics and costs $1,000. To sign up for the course, applicants must have a high school diploma, a GED, or be in high school and about to graduate.

Bell County EMS Training is run by retired Killeen police officer Jon Holman and his wife Cyndi Holman, a retired Killeen firefighter and EMS driver.

“We were doing really great and then COVID-19 hit and now we are down to 6-10 people per class. We are trying to start it up again now that we are both retired and have more time to fully focus on the business,” Jon said.

Cyndi started the training program at the fire department and has taught various courses for Central Texas College for 12 years before opening the training center with her husband. According to Cyndi, Most of the clients the center works with are volunteer firefighters or military dependants, but the classes are open to anyone interested.

“The last couple of classes we’ve run have produced a 100% pass rate on the national registry exam for the first time,” Cyndi Holman said. “The average for Texas right now is around 70% and we are running between 96-100% consistently.”

Bell County EMS Training can do mobile courses for first aid and CPR. Businesses or organizations can participate in a portable course for a day.

For more information or to apply for a course, call 254-368-9199 or email BCEMSTraining@yahoo.com. The center also posts regular updates on it’s Facebook page by the same name.