The Tidewater EMS Council, Inc. 2024 Regional Award Innovation Excellence in EMS presented to Northampton County Department of EMS.
The Northampton County Department of EMS was presented with the Tidewater Emergency Medical Services Council's (TEMS) Regional Award for Innovation Excellence in EMS at an awards ceremony in Chesapeake On May 18, 2024.
Some of the highlight included with the nomination letter are as follows:
Over the last 2 years one of our agency's goals has been to enhance the learning and training opportunities for EMS providers and citizens in Northampton County. We were awarded two (2) grants, a USDA Rural Development grant, and the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program (RPHWTN) Grant. Both have allowed us to offer comprehensive and up-to-date training programs in an updated training facility.
The USDA grant allowed NCEMS to purchase/provide the following:
• New tables, desks, and chairs for classrooms.
• Blackboard to whiteboard conversion kits.
• Two Smartboards with 65-inch and internal PCs.
• New iPads, cases, and a storage cart to be used by students to reduce the use of paper.
• Funds to build a mock ambulance that is a copy of one of our county ambulances.
• Addition training equipment: CPR manikins, Airway manikins of all ages, a new Moulage makeup kit and IO and EJ IV training equipment
In September 2022, NCEMS, partnering with Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance (BRTA), was awarded just under $380,000 from the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program (RPHWTN) Grant. This three (3) year grant provides resources for planning and implementing Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) programs in the community by supporting training, career development, and community placement of a more diverse and robust workforce of EMS providers in rural communities to act as physician extenders within the framework of MIH. The Northampton County MIH program is still in the development phase with a goal to be thriving by the end of the grant.
The RPHWTN grant has allowed NCEMS to provide funding for the following:
• Distance Learning equipment that included two new laptops and headphones for our training facility.
• Current NCEMS providers can advance their certification level by covering all associated costs for the course.
• A Gaumard HAL® S3000 wireless and tether less, prehospital and nursing care medium fidelity patient simulator. HAL operates continuously during training scenarios where EMT students and current EMS providers can start their evaluation in a simulated field environment such as a living room, move HAL to a stretcher, and load him into a mock ambulance, and then remove him from the ambulance and transfer him to a hospital bed to simulate a patient turnover at the receiving facility.
In 2023, our training facility was granted permission to be a designated webcast receiving site through the Virginia Office of EMS. This allows Northampton County to bring live education to Eastern Shore EMS providers virtually. We successfully offered our maiden voyage into virtual continuing education by partnering with TEMS to offer access to some of the January 2024 quarterly training with 9 NCEMS providers participating. We look forward to our growing relationship with TEMS and the quarterly continuing education offerings
Our agency is committed to continuously evaluating and updating our training programs to ensure they meet the evolving needs of EMS providers and align with the latest industry standards. Through collaboration with our local hospital, other emergency services, and educational institutions, we strive to create a supportive and enriching learning environment for EMS providers in Northampton County.