UNMC’s Simulation in Motion-Nebraska program recently provided free virtual training on the cornavirus to rural emergency medical system (EMS) responders.
On March 25, more than 735 EMS responders logged in to Facebook Live to watch training on COVID-19 and how to protect themselves should they encounter potential cases. The virtual session included a panel discussion and Q&A with UNMC and Nebraska Medicine experts, as well as training videos on the proper donning and doffing of N-95 respirators and how to care for individuals who have coronavirus symptoms. See the video.
SIM-NE is a mobile training system that provides free statewide training, normally with four, 44-foot-long, customized trucks for rural EMS providers and health professionals in hospitals. The virtual training session was provided because the space within the mobile units does not allow for social distancing.
“We’re at a ground stop,” said Doug Dekker, program manager of SIM-NE. “Since we can’t conduct training the way we normally do, we are continuing to offer training in this way.”
The panel included: John Lowe, Ph.D., assistant vice chancellor for inter-professional health security training and education and associate professor in the UNMC College of Public Health, and Eric Ernest, M.D., medical director for Nebraska emergency medical services and UNMC/Nebraska Medicine emergency department physician. Kalen Knight, nursing professional development specialist with Nebraska Medicine, also helped answer questions posted during the live session.
The training videos were created by the UNMC iEXCEL visualization team in cooperation with the Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center at UNMC.
EMS participants across Nebraska said they were appreciative of the event and thanked SIM-NE and iEXCEL staff. “Information that was provided was very applicable,” one said. “Questions posed represented things that are on the minds of many in EMS and every question was answered thoroughly.”
SIM-NE is working on plans for additional training. More information can be found on the SIM-NE website and Facebook page.
Since the program’s launch in 2017, SIM-NE mobile units have trained more than 7,200 emergency medical providers in 87 of 93 Nebraska counties — equating to more than 20,000 hours of simulation education.
SIM-NE was initially funded with a $5.5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Current sources of funding come from private funds raised in partnership with the University of Nebraska Foundation and carryover funds through a no-cost extension from The Helmsley Charitable Trust and training partnerships. SIM-NE continues to develop a long-term sustainability plan to ensure free, accessible training throughout the state to rural EMS providers and critical access hospitals.
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