Emergency Medical Services

Residency // Selected Training // Emergency Medical Services
			click for video	Emergency Medical Services(EMS)traditionaly refers to the entire spectrum of care from the prehospital setting to the more definitive care provided in the emergency department. At VCU, residents are provided with exposure to a multi-faceted EMS system. This ranges from annual bioterrism scenario training to suiting up with the flight team. Click on the diagram below to explore our EMS opportunites.




Bioterrorism The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded a 1.5 million dollar grant to VCU to provide continuing education for health professionals to better respond to bioterrorism emergencies. VCU is the only Virginia institution to receive on of 19 nation-wide grants awarded under the HHS Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program. The training programs, lead by VCU Emergency Department staff, will coordinate the resources of VCU Emergency Department, regional ambulance agencies, Life-Evac Helicopter, and local fire and police departments. More information is available HERE. Residents gain certification in Operations and Disaster Life Support(ODLS).
Richmond Ambulance Authority Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) provides EMS coverage to approximately 62 square miles serving a day-time population of over 1,000,000 and night-time population of about 200,000 people. RAA is one of the busiest (per capita) ambulance systems in the nation.
RAA responds to approximately 50,000 calls per year, or 135 calls per day, transporting approximately 110 patients per day. RAA system is extremely active compared with other cities of Richmond's size. RAA's response times are among the fastest in the nation. RAA ambulances are on the scene of life threatening emergencies in less than 8 minutes and 59 seconds in more than 90% of all responses. The RAA Communication Center is operated on a system of flexible deployment referred to as System Status Management. The call volume data (by hour-of-day, day-of-week) for the latest 20 weeks are analyzed to determine the best placement of available units. During the EMS rotation, residents ride along with the RAA crews and observe how they operate.
Virginia Commonwealth University Life Evac The VCU LifeEvac serves the people of South Central Virginia, offering critical care transportation services - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Life Evac provides inter-facility transfers as well as scene transport. The VCU LifeEvac medical crew is comprised of seven nurses and seven paramedics, with one flight nurse and one flight paramedic team on each mission. Combined, each medical crew team has an average of more than 25 years experience in emergency medicine and critical care. Every VCU LifeEvac medical team has been trained in the critical care of burn, trauma, cardiac, and neurologically impaired patients.During the second-year EMS rotation, residents have the opportunity to fly with LifeEvac as much as they desire. There is also a third-year air medical transport elective in which residents participate in all aspects of LifeEvac operations.
Paramedic/Fire Rescue In the surrounding county areas such as Henrico, Hanover, Goochland, and Chesterfield County, the EMS system is staffed by professional fire fighters as well as volunteer rescue squads. These systems provide EMS services to the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the community. Each volunteer and professional EMS agency has an operation medical director who is ultimately in charge of the training and operating protocols of the agency. Most agencies we deal with are part of Old Dominion EMS Agency (ODEMSA). During the EMS rotation, residents have the opportunity to interact with a few of these agencies in order to observe how they operate and to interact with the various providers. Hanover County Fire and EMS- a combination of volunteer and career providers who’s medical direction is provided by VCU’’s Department of Emergency Medicine under the leadership of Dr. Ornato. Medical Direction for Chesterfield County Fire and EMS is provided by Dr. Allen Yee, who is also an attending physician in the emergency department at VCU.
EMS Fellowship More information coming soon......
Special Forces Medics The Department of Emergency Medicine has the honor of working with Military Special Forces. This program is for the Special Operations Combat Medic(SOCM). This encompasses Army Special Forces, Navy Seals, and Force Recon Medics. As part of their medical training they join us in the Emergency Department to gain the skills needed during deployment. These medics are confident and well-equipped to learn to manage sick patients and to help out in any way possible in the department. Also if residents are interested, there is opportunity to join in some of their off campus training sessions.
NASCAR As NASCAR season arrives, there is a need for medical support at the raceway. In the past residents have served as the "crowd medic" while enjoying a free show.

Research There is ongoing research in the field of EMS. Please visit Research link for more information....

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VCU MEDICAL CENTER : 1200 Marshall Avenue : Richmond VA 23223 : 804.828.0951

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