Last Friday, in the basement of the Tisbury Emergency Services Facility, Island medical professionals wrapped up their recertifications at the Martha’s Vineyard Association of Emergency Medical Technicians’ (MVAEMT) winter Advanced Life Support (ALS) core-competency program. The final training day of the two-week series catered to paramedics and physicians, and it corresponded with the American Heart Association’s National Wear Red Day, a day of awareness for women’scardiovascular issues. Fittingly, everyone at the training wore something red.
“Go Red for Women is an American Heart Association initiative which began in 2003,” clinical education specialist Becky Valentine said in an email to The Times. “One in three women die of cardiovascular disease. It is the No. 1 killer of women, more than all other causes combined.”
Ms. Valentine, whose titles include chair of the Martha’s Vineyard EMS Symposium, chair of leadership development for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island ECC Committee for American Heart Association, and board member of the National Association of EMS Educators, added, “With some lifestyle changes — including eating better, limiting stress, and exercising more — we can lower our risk of cardiovascular disease and live healthier lives.”
The focus of the Friday training, however, wasn’t women’s heart health. The participants in Friday’s training recertified themselves in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) — essentially emergency medical treatment for infants and children.
“While babies and children recover well from injury and illness,” the program’s director, Jeff Pratt, said in an email to The Times, “they also are more susceptible to rapid deterioration.” Mr. Pratt, who is also Tisbury’s former ambulance coordinator, further stated, “For children and babies, it is important to recognize early signs of distress and address them as soon as possible. Because many things can be treated with an otherwise healthy youngster, outcomes can be good. However, early recognition is key.”
Ms. Valentine, who taught on Friday alongside Mr. Pratt, summarized what the training covered. “The majority of infants and children die from preventable causes, including unintentional injury, respiratory problems, and shock,” she said. “During the course, we reinforced our organized team approach using our basic life support (BLS) skills of resuscitation for children and infants, which included high-quality CPR, choking and automated external defibrillators.”
Ms. Valentine said the groups training on Friday partook in “simulated emergent scenarios” and utilized “a systematic team approach to patient assessment.”
“We reviewed use of their manual defibrillator [for cardiac rhythm disturbances and electrical therapy],” she said, “effective respiratory management (BLS and advanced), vascular access including intravenous (IVs) and intraosseous (IOs: needle placed into a bone when access is needed but there is no evidence of veins big enough to start an IV), pharmacology, and the algorithms of care based on Resuscitation Guidelines 2010.”
According to MVAEMT secretary Alan Ganapol, many of the medical devices used during the training, such as automated external defibrillators, were acquired thanks to Island-based grants.
“MVAEMT has been the recipient of several generous grants from Island funding sources that have made a significant difference in training Island EMTs and paramedics,” Mr. Ganapol said in an email to The Times. “Not only this past summer, when MVAEMT-trained EMTs and paramedics helped to save the life of an individual in cardiac arrest, but every day these highly trained people apply their skills to make a difference in the lives of many people. We are now seeking funds to enhance our training tools to include an Advanced Life Support Training Monitor. This equipment will significantly augment the knowledge and skills of the Island’s current and future EMTs and paramedics.”
For more information about MVAEMT, visit:mvaemt.org.For more information about the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign, visitgoredforwomen.org.