PARK RAPIDS  — Minnesota is pushing to train a few hundred “community paramedics,” a new kind of health care provider intended to make up for the lack of doctors and nurses in rural areas.

Once certified, community paramedics can deal with a variety of non-emergency situations that might otherwise result in expensive trips to the emergency room.

Minnesota is the first state in the country to establish the new classification under law. Some officials hope as many as 20 percent of the state’s 2,200 paramedics will obtain the certification.