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Medstar Paramedics Complete Critical Care Training
Jul 30, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: July 30 2008 CONTACT: Diane Holm, Public Information Officer (239) 357-3540 cell (239) 533-3939 office LEE COUNTY MEDSTAR PARAMEDICS COMPLETE CRITICAL CARE TRAINING Ft. Myers, Fla.- Lee County Emergency Medical Services MEDSTARs Steve Winters, Ron Sharp and Bob Haynes, all of Cape Coral, became certified in the University of Maryland's Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program. The Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program is designed to prepare paramedics to function as members of a critical care transport team with curriculum that covers the most common to the most serious conditions requiring transport from a community hospital to definitive care. During 2007, MEDSTAR completed more than 1,000 flight missions and Lee County EMS transported more than 400 patients requiring specialty care. With the course completion, each MEDSTAR paramedic holds the critical care certification. The MEDSTAR paramedics will continue their flight orientation and extensive training within the specialty care areas of hospitals in Lee Memorial Health Systems. Lee County's MEDSTAR operates under the county's Division of Public Safety/Emergency Medical Services and augments the emergency medical services by providing air and critical care transport for the most critically ill and injured. Patients are typically transported by air when time is of the essence. Critical care patients are those patients that require transport between facilities with medications or control measures in place that are not within the current emergency protocols for ground transport. Lee County established its air transport service in 1978 and was the first county-based rotor-wing operation in the United States. Lee County MEDSTAR employs 13 critical care paramedics. Lee County MEDSTAR is based out of Southwest Florida International Airport. |