Simulation Trucks Provide Training for Rural and Remote EMTs in Montana

SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Emergency Services Quick Response Unit had the opportunity to practice caring for a patient in a very realistic way last Monday, June 25.

Through a grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Montana Department of Health and Human Services received $4.6 million to do outreach to rural and remote fire departments, quick response units and critical access hospitals in the state. The grant paid for three simulation trucks and for the cost of taking them to different locations.

"What literally started out as a dream on a bar napkin several years ago is now parked in your parking lot," Brody Verworn, the simulation's team leader said.

The simulation trucks, which worked with Seeley Lake medical personnel May 20 and returned to Condon in June, come with four high-tech mannequins, an infant, a child, an adult female and an adult male. The mannequins have the ability to show symptoms for all kinds of medical emergencies. They also have detectable pulses, chest rise and are able to speak in response to questions asked by the emergency responders.

"We were blessed with this startup from Helmsley to be in these three strategic locations and to be able to reach out to all the small departments and offer this training," Verworn said.

The technology available in the trucks is far ahead of what training simulations were even in the recent past. A "trauma patient" mannequin used to be a head and chest, no arms or legs, and without any ability to exhibit symptoms or traits of a real human trauma victim. According to Verworn, a birthing simulator used to be a doll covered in cornstarch that was pushed through a curtain.

"And now we're able to take these all-volunteer departments and bring true-to-life, 21st century training to them," he said.

For the volunteers who participated in the training, practicing in a simulation gives them great peace of mind, as well as the opportunity to practice the most common emergencies in their area.

"Obviously it's nice to be able to practice because it does count," said Gwen Feese, one of the unit's EMTs. "And here, our population is largely geriatric, so that's one of the reasons why we chose this [heart attack scenario] as a training. It's a very realistic scenario for us."

The team in Condon also responds to many vehicle accidents. The group practiced in the simulator with a male trauma victim and will be working with the Swan Valley Fire Department next week to simulate a vehicle accident.

"We're like Seeley in that we have crossovers between our fire and our EMTs," Tori Matthew, another EMT at the training said. "We train with our fire guys all the time just to be ready for whatever instance."