Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines has partnered with Southwestern Community College to offer a paramedic program in Creston, beginning this fall. Through this partnership, SWCC students can remain in Creston and earn a Mercy College of Health Sciences paramedic certificate in one year, the colleges said in a press release. The program will be an online-hybrid format, with online lectures and face-to-face skills labs during evenings and weekends at the Creston campus. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for folks in the Creston area. We want to educate everyone who is interested in becoming a paramedic, and sometimes that can be difficult in rural areas,” said Cheryl Blazek, Mercy College Emergency Medical Services program chair. SWCC students who complete the paramedic program would be eligible to enroll in the Paramedic to Bachelor of Science in Nursing pathway that Mercy College launched in 2019. Mercy College is enrolling now for the paramedic program in both Creston and Des Moines. Classes start Sept. 8.