When pediatric emergencies happen in rural communities, EMS providers are often the first and only point of care in those critical first moments.
On EMS for Children Day, part of National EMS Week, the Orion Initiative is highlighting how partnership and specialized training are strengthening pediatric emergency preparedness for rural EMS providers across Wisconsin.
“EMS is the only health care that’s available everywhere, all the time,” said Dr. Manish Shah, principal investigator and faculty member at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, in the featured Specialty Training at Rural Sites-Pediatric Prehospital Care (STARS-PPC) mini story video. “What we want to make sure is that when somebody in Green Lake County calls 911, they get a paramedic in an ambulance to their door that has the skillset that they need.”
Through STARS-PPC, a collaboration between the Orion Initiative, the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine and Green Lake County EMS providers, rural emergency responders receive advanced, hands-on pediatric emergency training designed to prepare them for some of the most complex situations they may face in the field.
STARS-PPC equips rural EMS providers with pediatric emergency training using sophisticated, life-like robotic manikins and simulation technology that allows participants to practice advanced procedures in highly realistic scenarios.
Training spans a wide range of pediatric emergencies, including:
- Neonatal resuscitation
- Trauma response
- Septic shock management
- Respiratory distress
- Burn-related emergencies
These tailored simulations help providers build confidence and strengthen critical decision-making skills before facing these emergencies in real-world settings.
“These manikins literally breathe. You can feel pulses, you can start IVs, you can do IOs, you can intubate them,” Berlin EMS provider Kasey Koch said. “It’s about as real as you can get without actually having a real patient in front of you.”
“These manikins literally breathe. You can feel pulses, you can start IVs, you can do IOs, you can intubate them.”
Kasey Koch, Berlin EMS provider
The training is led in collaboration with experts from the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, including Dr. Manish Shah, principal investigator and faculty member at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
On EMS for Children Day, STARS-PPC underscores the importance of ensuring rural EMS providers have access to the specialized training needed to deliver high-quality care for children when and where it matters most.
Watch the video above to hear from Berlin EMS providers and UW emergency medicine leaders about how STARS-PPC is strengthening pediatric emergency preparedness across Wisconsin.
