June 9, 2010

Cowley partnering to offer CCEMTP course in Arkansas City

Partnering with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Wesley Medical Center Trauma Services, Midwest Life Team, and Wichita State University, Cowley College is hosting the Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program June 7-18 in the Earle N. Wright Community Room.

The Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program is designed to prepare paramedics and nurses to function as members of a critical care transport team. Critical patients requiring transport between facilities need a different level of care from hospital or emergency field patients.

Participants will gain an understanding of the special needs of critical patients during transport, become familiar with the purpose and mechanisms of hospital procedures and equipment, and develop the skills to maintain the stability of hospital equipment and procedures during transport.

According to Paul Misasi, CCEMTP Site Coordinator, there are 35 individuals taking part in the class. The participants hail from all over the United States, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Washington State, Pennsylvania, and Wasilla, Alaska.

“Because of the Wesley Trauma Services Outreach Education Program we were able to recruit experts in their fields who were interested in participating in the program,” Misasi said.

The Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program brings paramedics and nurses together in an effort to bridge the gap between prehospital and hospital care. The result is a specialized care provider that has an understanding of both aspects of patient care, and uses the understanding to provide the highest level of care to critical patients during transport.

“This is the highest level of certification that can be achieved as a paramedic,” Misasi said.

Cowley is sponsoring eight MICT instructors, via a grant, to attend the CCEMTP program. The instructors are, Cindy Branscum, Paul Hunter, Craig Isom, Travis Morin, Deryk Ruddle, Aaron Sutton, Lyle Webster, and Malachi Winters.

Each person taking part in the 84 hours of instruction must have a current paramedic or nursing license.
Misasi, who took part in the program when it was held in Baltimore in 2008, said most continuing education programs are 16 hours at the most, so to put one on that is more than five times that amount was a huge task.

“We started planning and preparing for it in 2008,” Misasi said. “We had to recruit lecturers and organize a schedule for two weeks. It’s a huge program to put together and coordinate and we could not have done it without our partners.”

The coursework will be done on Cowley College’s main campus in Arkansas City, except for when the group travels to Wichita State University to take part in a Cadaver Lab.

All totaled, there are 17 instructors ranging from Board certified physicians to advanced level practitioners. The Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program covers the most common and serious conditions requiring transport from a community hospital to a tertiary care facility.

CCEMTP lectures are broken into the following modules: Critical Care Environment; Breathing Management; Surgical Airway Management; Hemodynamic Management; Cardiac Management; Pharmacological Management; GI, GU and Renal Management; Neurological Management; Complications of Transport; Special Considerations; and Continuing Education Hours.

According to Misasi, individuals in the program will learn the knowledge and skills necessary to manage patients requiring critical care. Midwest Life Team critical care transport provided a helicopter that flew in to Arkansas City during the program.

CCEMTP is currently being updated and revised to prepare participants to perform the specialized skills necessary to transport critical patients using the most up-to-date technology and information.

Program administrator, Chris Cannon, was pleased to be able to offer such an intense and beneficial program.

“Our goal is to improve patient care any way we can,” Cannon said. “We thought this would be a fantastic way to do that.”

Instructors for the CCEMTP course are: Paul Misasi, MS, NREMT-P – Lieutenant Paramedic, Sedgwick County EMS; Frank Williams, BSN, RN, MICT – Program Director for Midwest Life Team air ambulance service, flight medic/nurse; Brenda LeBaron, BS, BSN, RN – Director of Medical Operations, Midwest Life Team air ambulance service, flight nurse; Martin Sellberg, MD, FACEP – Board Certified in Emergency Medicine; Mark Terry, MPA, MICT – Johnson County EMS management; Curt Meinecke, MD – Board Certified in Emergency Medicine; David Abate, BS – Thoratec Corp. Clinical Specialist, Cardiac Procedures Technologist; Adam Misasi, MICT, fourth year KU med student; Damien Bielman, BS, RRT – Respiratory Therapist; Malachi Winters, AAS, MICT – Lead Paramedic Instructor, Cowley College; Roger Misasi, DO, FAOCA – Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Board Certified in Pain Management; David Moran, PharmD – Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist; Joseph Couey, MS, ARNP – former paramedic, FD Battalion Chief for WFD, emergency medicine nurse practitioner; Kayla Keuter, BS, PA – former paramedic, emergency medicine, trauma, critical care, sepsis team; Roy Danks, DO, FACOS – Board Certified in Surgery, sub-specializing in trauma, surgical critical care, and burns; Cynthia Chapman, MS, ARNP – Pediatric intensive care; Jennifer Hill, MD – 4th year OB/GYN resident; Andrea Fauchier, MS, CRNA – nurse anesthesia; Gregg Schroeder, PhD(c), ARNP.

Click here for more information on this Allied Health program.