Western Institute of Emergency Education new ambulance simulator in Vermilion. Photos submitted
The Western Institute of Emergency Education (WIEE|) has added a new state of the art Ambulance Simulator to their Vermilion and Sherwood Park locations.
The new simulators crossed the border into Canada from Texas in early November and can be used to train a variety of medical personnel.
“The simulator is used for training first responders. We can train first aiders, first responders, fire fighters, nurses and doctors,” said Advanced Care Paramedic and Owner, Shane Croke. Croke who has over 20 years of experience in the EMS industry also went on to say that they can do recertification’s, modified training and advanced care training.
The simulators provide the most realistic hands-on experience and each student has the opportunity to complete a scenario from start to finish and the ambulance simulator is fully loaded with lighting, a stretcher, IV’s, catheters, oxygen, and a suction unit.
“Rather than imaging what it would be like to care for a patient on the way to the hospital from an emergency scene they can do it in the simulator,” explained Croke.
The simulators are $50,000 each and to have them fully stocked and ready to go costs around $65,000. Croke explained that NAIT does have a version of the same type of simulator but is not quite the same as the new version they currently have.
“They have a simulator for training but it is not the same as the one we have now. From what we understand these two simulators we have are the only copies of this version in Alberta, possibly even Canada,” said Croke.
According to Croke the simulators are versatile and not just for one population. They provide not only visual, but a hands-on experience for proper structure handling.
“Each student who walks into our facility will get an enhanced learning experience. There are multiple cameras in the simulator that records and displays what each student is doing as they are working on a patient, this allows them to rewatch what they did as they debrief and critique their own actions,” explained Croke.
WIEE offers a wide range of services including the Alberta Paramedics Drivers Operator course, EMS Safety programs, Infection Control Training, Mental Health programs, ACP exam prep, Advanced First Aid, Medical First Responder course, EMR Refresher, Youth courses, BLS programs, First Aid and CPR programs, Health Care course and Safety courses, Instructor courses, Online safety courses such as WHIMIS, TDG and Ground Disturbance Supervisor training. They also offer Drug and Alcohol testing and FIT testing.
The WIEE also has ALEX which is an interactive mannequin that has cameras, movement, sound and speech and they also have six adult and six child mannequins.
Currently all of their programs are running and they have options for in class training with restrictions and following all COVID guidelines as well as a variety of online and virtual training options.