South Central Minnesota Ems Corporation

Programs: Regional emt staffing program (resp) recruiting and retaining quality emergency personnel is a challenge faced by volunteer ambulance providers all over minnesota. Add to that the limited ability of providers to allow themselves to be scheduled during weekdays, and a difficult problem gets another variable. With that scenario in mind, the south central minnesota ems regional system recently launched a program to assist providers in our area with addressing some of their staffing needs. The regional emt staffing program (resp) is designed to place qualified emts who are free to take weekday call time with ambulance services in need of scheduling help. Once the emts have been vetted and properly orientated, resp provides an ambulance manager with a pool of quality responders to assist in providing coverage to their service area. The local ambulance service will provide one of their members to respond with the resp staff. There is no initial charge to the local ambulance service for use of resp staff; staff members are paid according to local policy. Funding for the program is provided thru seatbelt fines collected by law enforcement agencies in minnesota. Rehab team rehab is simply a systematic method of medically monitoring responders during an extended deployment. Responders are classified as anyone involved with that mission, including firefighters, ems, law enforcement, public works, and civilian volunteer organizations. The rehab medical staff consists of volunteers from the region s first responder and ambulance services. A medical director oversees all rehab responder training and procedures. Medical monitoring by the team includes: 1. Tracking of vital signs (blood pressure, respirations, pulse), 2. Initial medical treatment for personnel whose vital signs fall outside of pre-determined safe criteria, 3. Arranging further medical care (if needed). The rehab team maintains flexibility, allowing it to assist multiple agencies and multiple missions. Our team is trained to provide rehab services to: 1. Firefighters,2. Local, state, and federal response agencies,3. Any city, county, or state agency requesting assistance,4. Any non-profit service or organization needing medial monitoring for a public eventcontinuing education scmnems provides no-cost continuing education to ems, fire, and law enforcement agencies throughout the 9 county region. Training modules are created by scmnems staff and approved by the regional medical director. These modules include bloodborne pathogens, cardiac arrest management, drug administration, and emergency driving. Modules are also created based on requests from responders to further training in various aspects of their duties, such as crime scene management, trauma assessments, and type-specific medical emergencies (i. E. Technological dependent children). Scmnems also hosts a bi-annual mini-conference for rural providers. The purpose of the conference is to enhance the training and experience of attendees by providing a big city conference experience at no-cost. Speakers are recruited from throughout the state to speak at these events, and donate their time and energy to ensure the providers are given up-to-date information regarding patient care and trends. Scmnems also provides public education modules, also available at no-cost. These trainings typically focus on distracted/drunk driving, and bystander cpr. Scmnems maintains a rollover simulator (designed to simulate a 30 mph rollover crash), drunk goggles (goggles designed to impair the wearer s reflexes by distorting their visual perceptions, and a texting and driving simulator (golf carts in which the driver navigates an obstacle course while texting).

critical incident stress management team (cism) over time, special needs for emergency personnel have been recognized. The work they perform can be emotionally difficult, physically draining, and can have a profound impact on all aspects of their lives. The stress inherent in their jobs can cause a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, nausea, anxiety, headaches, and increased alcohol and/or drug use. The scmnems cism team is a group of trained emergency service peers who conduct confidential debriefing sessions with affected personnel following an incident. These sessions are typically held between 24 and 72 hours after an event (although the request can be made at any time), and are provided at no cost. The debriefing session typically lasts between 1 and 3 hours, and is designed to assist participants in understanding the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that occur as a result of a critical incident. The ultimate goal of a debriefing session is to accelerate the healing process in people having normal reactions to abnormal events.

other program services to address stakeholder's concerns and assessments and respond to needs of county ems personnel.