EMT Teacher Danielle Bohlmann and her students have a new tool to help them learn the skills needed to become EMTs with the installation of an ambulance simulator in the classroom. BOCES invested $65,000 to purchase the unit and have it installed.
Brent Baugus and Eli Turner from Rescue Simulation Products traveled from Texas to Poughkeepsie to install the unit on Wednesday and Thursday last week (March 18 and 19).
“I’m excited that we’ll be able to do real-life simulations so that when we talk about it, I can show them,” Bohlmann said, continuing with an example. “When I talk about lifting and moving, they can get the feeling of taking a patient from a room and putting them in the ambulance.” Over time, more equipment and supplies will be added to the simulator so that it models the New York State Department of Health standards for a basic life support ambulance. “This way, when they are on their clinical ride time, their simulator will be modeled after an in-service unit,” Bohlmann said.
“It’s all about preparing and giving our kids a hands-on, real-world ambulance simulator that enhances their education and lets them practices the skills. This is really innovative,” Career and Technical Institute Principal Jason Lloyd said.
