Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) just took an important step forward at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. Baylor Grapevine EMS Medical Control has contracted with USA Prepare, a program of MC Strategies, to provide web based lessons on pre-hospital protocols and a learning management system to manage training records for hundreds of area emergency medical technicians (EMT) and paramedics in Baylor Grapevine’s EMS Medical Control System.

“This initiative, in support of our local fire-based EMS agencies, is a progressive step in our commitment to provide the highest quality pre-hospital patient care for the citizens and visitors of the Baylor Grapevine community,” says Leigh Anne Bedrich, EMS Manager at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.

Baylor Grapevine’s EMS Medical Control is a program offered to provide medical direction, quality assurance and improvement, and continuing medical education to EMS providers and first responders in the Northeast Tarrant and Southern Denton County areas. Under EMS Medical Director John H. Ansohn, D.O., this medical control group has provided support to many of these communities for more than fifteen years.

“The work that our local paramedics do in the field is a critical component of the patient care process. Many times these folks make the difference between life and death. Baylor Grapevine is committed to providing tools to help paramedics and EMTs do their jobs. The new learning management system is a great way to strengthen our partnership with the EMS teams and assist in the delivery of exceptional patient care,” says John Ansohn, D.O., who is also an Emergency Department physician at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.

The learning management system will allow training to be more efficient, effective and accessible. Concepts and protocols will be taught and credentialed using the web based platform on an individualized basis.

This will allow live classroom and drill time to be more focused on valuable skill and situational practice. By making short lessons available through the Web 24-hours-a-day, Baylor Grapevine’s EMS personnel can easily access the tools and training they need to prepare for all types of community disasters.

MC Strategies’ community preparedness training division, known as USA Prepare, is developing the lessons based on Baylor Grapevine’s local emergency procedures and protocols while maintaining teaching Websites for each fire or public safety department. Additionally, custom and “best practice” lessons have been prepared in hundreds of subjects, including Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Combating Terrorism, Safety Protocols for Hazards, Tactical Operations for Dealing with Crime and Terrorism and Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction.

EMS agencies that are members of Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine’s EMS Medical Control include: Argyle Fire Department, Colleyville Fire Department, Flower Mound Fire Department, Grapevine Fire Department, Keller Fire Rescue, Krum Fire Department, Ponder Fire Department, Roanoke Fire Department, Southlake Department of Public Safety, Trophy Club Department of Public Safety, Watauga Department of Public Safety and Westlake Department of Public Safety. This medical control group was recognized by the Department of State Health Services (formerly Texas Department of Health) last December when Dr. Ansohn was named EMS Medical Director of the Year for the State of Texas.
For more information about USA Prepare, visit their Website at www.usaprepare.com.