Baker College of Cadillac recently donated a realistic tool for future EMTs and paramedics to use at Munson Regional EMS Education – a full scale ambulance simulator.
Munson Regional EMS Education Manager Laura Criddle, BAS, CCEMTP I/C, said the gift comes at a great time as her agency prepares early next year to move into remodeled classrooms at Munson Community Health Center in Traverse City.
“This is a huge gift for us. We are going to have two rooms and one is just the right size for the simulator to occupy it,” she said. “My hope is to have a simulation lab where we can video our students and allow them to critique themselves.”
The gift is a mockup of the back of an ambulance with shelving, jump seat, a bench and space for a gurney as well as a window for instructors to watch students as they practice EMS techniques and protocols.
Baker College has a long relationship with Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital through its nursing program and Cadillac Hospital President Tonya Smith helped facilitate the gift when approached about it by the college’s President Kelly Smith.
Munson Healthcare’s North Flight EMS President Mark Deponio said many graduates of Munson Regional EMS Education go on to jobs at North Flight. He agrees the simulator will help better prepare the region’s first-response and EMS providers.
“In a typical year our North Flight EMS team responds more than 13,000 times to needs across the region,” he said. “Baker College’s generosity will help make our local EMS training more effective.”
More information on Munson Regional EMS Education upcoming classes can be found here.