COLUMBIA — Columbia State Community College's Emergency Medical Services program brought home top honors from the fourth annual Battle of the Smokies competition, held March 4 in Sevierville. More than 25 teams from Tennessee community colleges, county EMS agencies, and mine rescue crews competed. Columbia State's paramedic students won first and fourth place in the Student Advanced Life Support division. In the Student Basic Life Support division, Columbia State's AEMT teams claimed both first and second place, with Roane State Community College finishing third in each category.
The competition scenario involved multiple patients injured when a side-by-side utility vehicle struck a telephone pole, with simulated smoke and hazards on scene. Teams were scored on patient assessment speed, quality of medical interventions, and how quickly patients were prepared for transport — skills that translate directly to saving lives on real Maury County roads. Gregory S. Johnson, Columbia State's EMS program director and assistant professor, said the students performed at an exceptional level of clinical skill and critical thinking. Competing students included Dayla Stephens of Unionville, Levi Dixon of College Grove, Hannah Nolan of Columbia, Avery Fitzgerald of Spring Hill, Caroline Luna of Lyles, Jason Bruns of Hohenwald, and Jeremy Farmer of Columbia, among others.
Students also earned eight hours of continuing education credits through the competition and associated conference. The Battle of the Smokies is organized by the Tennessee Association of EMS Providers and the Tennessee Mine Rescue Association. For Maury County families who rely on quick, skilled emergency response, this kind of training excellence is anything but abstract — it's the difference a paramedic makes on your worst day.