An exciting partnership between MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center and Prince George’s County Paramedics educates EMT’s on the basics of airway management, saving lives in the field.
To gain valuable airway management experience, Prince George’s County paramedics have partnered with MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center for training that gives them ongoing education on mask ventilation, laryngoscopy (using a metal instrument to visualize the airway) and intubation (placement of a breathing tube in the trachea). Since paramedics often employ these life-saving methods out in the field, the ongoing experience they can gain at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center helps increase their skill level and confidence, says MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center Anesthesiologist Clyde Pray, MD.
“It’s going great,” says Dr. Pray, of the program. “They’re a great group, very motivated, very respectful.”
This program brings paramedics in to train several days per week and the goal, says Dr. Pray, is to perform two intubations during one shift, though one enterprising paramedic was able to perform six during one day spent in the Operating Room. Dr. Pray or one of his associates explains the training program to each patient, who gives consent before a paramedic practices, and these patients know they are helping paramedics and EMT’s maintain a vitally important skill.
“The experiences that our students receive at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center are invaluable in their development as competent paramedics, says Jonn A. Mack, Assistant Professor of PG County’s Paramedic Program at PG Community College. “Being the primary training facility for paramedics in PG County is a task that we do not take lightly and the team at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center allows our students to expand their knowledge, hone life-saving skills, and perfect patient care techniques.”
In 2016, U.S. News & World Report named MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center the #2 Hospital in the Washington Region and the #5 Hospital in the State of Maryland, in its Best Hospitals edition. MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center also ranked in the top forty hospitals in the nation for Neurology & Neurosurgery. In addition, the hospital rated as a high-performing hospital in the areas of Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics and Nephrology. The hospital was also rated as high-performing with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Heart Failure procedures.