Enhancing paramedic care.

INNOVATIONS IN CARE

Thanks in part to The Gill Family Endowment for Emergency Department Education, the Pasadena Fire Training Center now features a simulation lab where first responders can further hone their skills. This helps ensure patients with serious medical needs receive the very best of care, even before they arrive at Huntington Hospital’s Nan and Howard Schow Emergency & Trauma Center.

Jenny Van Slyke, RN, pre-hospital program manager, is pictured with Stephen and Linda Gill. Funds from The Gill Family Endowment for Emergency Department Education have allowed us to purchase patient simulator manikins (shown at bottom) to help first responders practice pre-hospital care.

Our new state-of-the-art emergency medical services (EMS) simulation lab represents the next step in pre-hospital care for patients in our service area. The simulation lab includes technology so advanced that it almost seems like science fiction. Simulations are performed using training manikins, which were purchased thanks to the generosity of Linda and Stephen Gill. These full-body models mimic human body functions at a very high level, including neurological, circulatory, breathing and other complex processes. Programmed to react in lifelike ways, the manikins are used to replicate emergency scenarios, such as choking or drowning. They can be pre-filled with liquid to allow first responders to practice suctioning a patient’s airways, and can be injected with medication. Vital signs are displayed on an accompanying monitor, and when correct lifesaving measure have been taken the manikins mimic recovery.

The first training using the new manikins was conducted this past June — and we will continue to offer trainings every month on a broad rotation of topics. Trainings are conducted for all members of the Pasadena Fire Department. Following each training session is a debrief, in which trainees identify areas for improvement and celebrate the actions that would translate into lifesaving measures in the outside world.

Training helps ensure that patients in the San Gabriel Valley are getting the best possible treatment from the moment they call 911. It is a rare service, to be sure. “Pasadena Fire is one of only three fire departments in Southern California to have a simulation lab, and we proud to be a part of this training effort,” says Jenny Van Slyke, RN, pre-hospital program manager at Huntington Health.

Thanks in part to The Gill Family Endowment for Emergency Department Education, the Pasadena Fire Training Center now features a simulation lab where first responders can further hone their skills. This helps ensure patients with serious medical needs receive the very best of care, even before they arrive at Huntington Hospital’s Nan and Howard Schow Emergency & Trauma Center.

We remain steadfastly grateful to Linda and Stephen Gill for helping our community stay healthy and well — now, and into the future.