USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) faculty and staff took their expertise – and their technology – to Pinellas County to give emergency medical service instructors hands-on practice they could then take back to first-responders across the county.

The “train the trainer” exercise was offered by the USF Health CAMLS, to Pinellas County EMS instructors for three days as a part of a new community outreach program. EMS instructors from across Pinellas gathered for an all-day instructor development class led by Yasuharu “Haru” Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, USF Health CAMLS executive director and USF Health executive director for interprofessional education and practice, and Ryan McKenna, DO, fellowship director, the interprofessional simulation fellowship at USF Health CAMLS and director of simulation, Emergency Medicine. The course focused on how to properly use and troubleshoot the technology and the best practices for simulation-based education.

Dr. Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, USF Health CAMLS executive director and USF Health executive director for interprofessional education and practice, taught the EMS instructors how to program and use the computerized mannequins to simulate various medical emergencies when teaching classes of their own.

“Simulation-based education is well-known to be very valuable in emergency medical services and emergency medical care in general, and we are excited to have the expertise of the USF Health CAMLS staff here to help us do a train-the-trainer,” said Angus Jameson, MD, MPH, USF Health affiliate associate professor of emergency medicine and medical director for Pinellas County EMS.

The EMS instructors gathered into two groups and ran through various scenarios with their mid-fidelity Gaumard ^®manikins. Hidden behind the television monitor used to display vital signs, Dr. Okuda and Dr. McKenna began the first round for their teams by acting as the patient, or the voice of the manikin. After a debrief, the instructors got a chance to play the roles of patient, family, and learners, while some served as facilitators who ran the simulation software.

During debrief, Ryan McKenna, DO, fellowship director, the interprofessional simulation fellowship at USF Health CAMLS and director of simulation, Emergency Medicine, goes over best-practices with the participating EMS instructors.

Shawn Tatham, EMS training coordinator for Pinellas County said, “in simulations, we can slow things down a little bit, we can get them into a structured assessment pattern and ensure that they’re doing their treatments according to our standardized protocol, and we can create a nice learning environment so they can go out and apply that for the best patient care.”

At the end of the scenario-based training, the EMS instructors will take what they have learned and apply it to their continuing education training with emergency medical technicians and paramedics across the county.

Andre Nelson, certified healthcare simulation operations specialist at USF Health CAMLS, helps EMS instructors with the behind-the-scenes technology that controls the manikin.

Video by Torie Doll and photos by Allison Long

St. Petersburg, FL (Sept. 1, 2015) – Bayfront Health St. Petersburg announced it has signed an affiliation agreement with the University of South Florida to help expand and strengthen the health care provided to patients. Through the collaborative agreement, Bayfront Health will contract with USF Health physicians to provide services in key medical and surgical specialties to better meet the needs of patients in local communities served by Bayfront Health St. Petersburg.

The strategic alliance establishes Bayfront Health St. Petersburg as the primary affiliate of USF Health, the region’s only academic health center, within the hospital’s service area of mid-to-south Pinellas County.

Dr. Charles J. Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of Morsani College of Medicine, with Kathryn J. Gillette, Bayfront Health Market President and CEO.

“An affiliation with USF Health – a leader in the Tampa Bay Area in medical education and research – will contribute to the success of Bayfront Health as the community’s preeminent choice for health care services of the highest quality,” said Bayfront Health Market President and CEO, Kathryn J. Gillette.   “Patients utilizing Bayfront Health St. Petersburg’s services can expect to benefit from the leading clinical practices that put patients first,” Gillette said.

“This affiliation in key specialties unites USF Health’s dedication to translating discoveries to best-practice clinical care and Bayfront Health’s commitment to patient-centered care,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “We look forward to engaging with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg in ways that will improve health outcomes for patients.  As we move forward to enhance the value of health care in the Tampa Bay community, we are seeking to enhance patient care and satisfaction by improving outcomes, providing better quality and lowering costs.”

The affiliation is expected to launch this month with physicians who practice in the specialty areas of general and interventional cardiology and colorectal surgery. USF Health and Bayfront Health are also exploring physician practices in the areas of breast cancer, urogynecology and reproductive endocrinology.

About Bayfront Health St. Petersburg

Serving the Tampa Bay community since 1906, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is a 480-bed private teaching hospital located in St. Petersburg. In addition to accreditation by The Joint Commission, Bayfront is certified as Pinellas County’s only Level II trauma center with Bayflite (air medical flight program), Level III regional perinatal intensive care center, primary stroke center, chest pain center w/PCI, Level IV epilepsy center and Joint Commission certified in hip and knee replacement.  For more information, visit www.bayfrontstpete.com

The strength of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is in the depth and breadth of the physicians and specialists available, as well as in the expertise and resources available to our patients.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is the regional flagship hospital for a network of hospitals along Florida’s Gulf Coast. The other hospitals are: Bayfront Health Brooksville, Bayfront Health Spring Hill, Venice Regional Bayfront Health, Bayfront Health Port Charlotte, Bayfront Health Punta Gorda and Bayfront Health Dade City. Combined, these hospitals will care for more than 66,000 inpatients, 202,000 ER visits, nearly 57,000 surgeries, and more than 500,000 outpatient visits.

About USF Health

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation.  For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Media contacts:
Elena Mesa, Public Information Officer, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg
Elena.Mesa@bayfronthealth.com  or (727) 893-6831

Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
abaier@health.usf.edu or (813) 974-3303

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications