Lake Technical College is happy to announce that our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department was just awarded a $43,995 EMS Matching Grant from the Florida Department of Health, EMS Trust Fund. This grant will be combined with other program funds and used to improve and expand the existing EMS simulation lab located in the EMS Building on the main campus in Eustis. The lab will be utilized by Emergency Medical Technician, Fire Fighter, and Paramedic students.
Layne Hendrickson, EMS Program Coordinator, said “the grant will help pay for an advanced simulation mannequin similar to Susie which was recently added to Lake Tech’s Health Science Lab.” The new mannequin will help EMS students gain valuable knowledge and experience on how to handle traumatic emergency situations as they learn to appropriately respond and attend to the patient’s needs. In this controlled simulation environment, instructors will be able to program various scenarios into the mannequin’s advanced computer system, and the mannequin will respond accordingly based on the care that the students give. The computer system will record the scenario, to include the students’ actions and the patient’s reactions to the care. Afterward, the instructor and students will be able to review and debrief using the data. Ms. Hendrickson said, “The experience that they are able to gain through this type of simulation is invaluable, as it offers the students a chance to practice and learn before being involved in a true life-or-death situation.”
The updated lab will be completed by the end of the 2016-17 school year.