With a focus on EMS provider health and wellness, the National Registry’s Research team recently presented at the National Association of EMS Physicians annual conference in San Diego. From left to right: Dr. Ashish R. Panchal (Research and Fellowship Director), Bill Seifarth (Executive Director), Jonathan Powell (EMS Research Scholar) and Mark Terry (Chief Certification Officer).
Challenge
Air Methods is an air ambulance service that provides emergency air medical services across the country and has logged 100,000 patient transports last year. With clinicians across the U.S., as well as outreach programs for local fire departments and other emergency services, the organization needed a flexible, yet cost effective solution that did not rely exclusively upon instructor-led training.
Solution
The American Red Cross Resuscitation Suite program offered by HealthStream provided multiple benefits beyond ongoing access to training. Educators also noted the cost savings and ability of clinicians to certify at their own speed. This was important, having previously worked with a training program that was instructor-led, despite sometimes having no instructor available. Grounded in ILCOR treatment recommendations and consistent with AHA guidelines, the Red Cross Resuscitation Suite offered the ability to solve these issues and meet compliance concerns.
Results
Overall feedback has been positive at all levels of usage, and seat time in the initial testing of the program was reduced by 50%. Educators have appreciated the decreased burden of compliance monitoring, and cost savings have been in the millions. After the successful implementation, HealthStream continued to work with the staff at Air Methods until they became confident and proficient at using the new technology, which helped them quickly achieve full adoption.
“We transitioned from a traditional leader-led program to the Red Cross instructor-less model, allowing our staff to obtain or update their certifications on their own schedule,” said Darrin Buchta, Clinical Education Manager, Air Methods. “The instructor-less model has significantly reduced the burden on our educators while also resulting in substantial cost savings.”
To learn more, visit the American Red Cross