Continuing Education - courses are offered bi-monthly (except during the summer months June, July August) this date is usually the first Wednesday of the month and the class is open to all emergency service personnel.  It is hard to schedule a year in advance as to what classes we want to provide since we use quality assurance indicators to help us plan for the upcoming con-ed.  If you are interested in upcoming classes please call (412) 931-8200 ext 108 or e-mail jswab@rwvems.org for information.  If you e-mail for information you will be added to our Con-ed e-mail group and receive a monthly e-mail of upcoming classes.   

 

 

 

 

            Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Class – Ross/West View EMSA is a CCAC training site for EMT classes.  One of our medics – Michelle Diehl is an EMT Instructor and coordinates the EMT class each semester – besides herself she uses a variety of Authority staff to help teach all aspects of the EMT course.  For further information about the EMT classes contact the Training office at (412) 931-8200 or call the CCAC Public Safety Institute at (412) 237-2500 for applications and costs.   The Authorities EMT instructors also help teach the CCAC paramedic training programs throughout the county.  

 

 

 

 

 

            CPR /AED / First Aid Training – We offer two CPR/AED classes here a month.  The classes are scheduled for the 3rd Thursday and the following Saturday.  The Thursday classes are held at 6:30pm and the Saturday class is at 9:00am.   The class length will depend upon the number of students in the class.  All types of CPR are offered – Adult, Child, Infant, Healthcare Provider and AED; please let the instructor know what class you need at the beginning of the class. The cost per person is $25.  The classes are held at our main station at 5325 Perry Highway, in Ross Township on the second floor in the training room.  CPR/First Aid classes can also be done for groups and civic organizations – for information and group pricing contact the Training office at (412) 931-8200 ext 108.    

 

 

 

 

 

            ACLS / PALS / BTLS / PEPP– The Authority has numerous instructors in all of the alphabet soup classes, but usually do not offer ACLS or PALS here at Ross/West View E.M.S.A.  Our instructors teach at the various hospitals who offer these courses on a regular basis. We offer an ACLS / PALS refresher course in house once a year. We do  try to run one BTLS / BTLS Refresher course a year here at the Authority.  Ross/West View EMSA staff is currently working with the BTLS National organization to update and revise the BTLS Access curriculum.     

 

This year we are starting of offer the PEPP course at our facility for all ALS providers, with hopes of making this a mandatory course in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Rescue Training: The philosophy of the Ross/West View EMSA has always been medically directed rescue.  Rescue is patient care.  The Training Division offers multiple rescue courses throughout the year.  PA State Fire Academy and PA Department of Health rescue courses are taught by the Ross/West View EMSA instructors.  We run these classes here at the Authority and also take them out to other services.  We have been as far east as Kentucky to teach rescue courses.  If you are interested in taking a rescue class or having one at your station please contact the training office.  Ross/West View EMSA was instrumental in the 2000 revision of the joint PA Dept. of Health – PA State Fire Academy Vehicle Rescue Curriculum as well as the Rapid Intervention and Structure Fire Rescue course.  Authority personnel have also authored numerous PA Department of Health continuing education courses on various rescue subject matter.

                       

Basic Vehicle Rescue – 48 hours

BVR-Awareness, BVR-Operations, BVR-Technician 16 hour classes each

                        Vehicle Rescue Technology Update – 16 hours

                        Vehicle Rescue Update Company Drill – 4 hours

                        Basic Rescue Practices – 68 hours

                        Rope Rescue I, II, and Basic Rigging – 16 hours each

                        Special Vehicle / Bus Rescue – 16 hours

                        Haz Mat R&I – 4 hours / 2 hour refresher

                        EMS/Haz Mat Operations – 16 hours

                        Domestic Preparedness –WMD EMS Technician - 8 hours

                        Domestic Preparedness – WMD Awareness – 4 hours

                        Confined Space Rescue – 16 hours

                        Elevator Rescue – 4 hours

                        Structural Collapse Rescue – 16 hours

                        Structural Fire Rescue – 16 hours

                        Firefighter Survival – 16 hours

                        Difficult Patient Packaging Scenarios – 4 hours

                        Emergency Incident Rehab – 4 hours

                        EMS Incident Command – MCI operations – 4 hours

                        Airbag Awareness – 4 hours

                        Meth Lab Awareness – 4 hours

                        Hybrid Vehicles – 4 hours

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarterly Staff Training Days -.  Each quarter all of the career staff is scheduled for an eight hour training day.  We run two of these days a quarter to get all of the staff through and still have coverage of the duty units. Our volunteer staff is welcome to either of the training days. These training days are for Ross/West View EMSA career and volunteer staff only.  Through the training days the ALS providers accomplish their 18 hour state con-ed requirement and their ALS Skills review.

 

 

 

 

 

                       

Child Protection Systems Technician – Child Seat Checks:The Authority offers child seat check clinics on a regular basis and training for persons wanting to become a child protection system technician.  We have eight Authority personnel certified at Child Protection System Technicians. Authority personnel have also been involved with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration developing a course titled Occupant Protection Systems for Emergency Responders.  This course covers air bag technologies, crash dynamics, child seats usage and how the transport a child in an ambulance.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Training: The Training Division and the Public Relations Supervisor work closely together in organizing PR events in all of the communities we protect.   We participate in health fairs, community days, and Fire Department open houses.    

 

 

 

 

 

Elementary and High School Training - The Training Division teaches in the schools through out the year.  We start with the 4th grade and then 6th grade, 8th grade and 10th grade health classes for two days each semester, ending with the 12th grade Prom Promise program. This training is progressive and changes due to the age of the students. 

4th grade for 2 hours of CPR and simple first aid.

6th grade Injury prevention, first aid and CPR

8th grade how the heart works, CPR, First Aid, and Drugs and alcohol awareness.

10th grade CPR review, First Aid, Drinking and driving, Drugs and alcohol

12th grades at the North Hills High school and Avonworth High school we do a Drunk Driving awareness program with the SADD groups and a Mock Crash demonstration.

The authority also trains all of the teachers, and staff of the North Hills School District in CPR / AED / First Aid.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire and Police Training - The Training Division provides free CPR/AED and First Aid training for the five Police Departments and 16 volunteer fire departments in our response area.  We try to schedule a drill with each of the fire departments at least once a year to review ambulance and rescue truck equipment and engine company operations at a motor vehicle crash.  The Training Division also schedules drills with our Mutual Aid Rescue Companies.    We have also started training with the Ross PD in tactical aspects of medical care.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incident Critiques: We learn from everything we do.  Here at Ross/West View E.M.S.A. we try and take that to the next level by critiquing ourselves in every aspect of what we do.  This is done through a good Quality Assurance program, and review of emergency incidents right after the call.  We use a peer review process for the review of trip sheets, this allows us to have multiple levels in the QA process.   The Training Division has also developed a critique form for the review of a rescue incident.  All of the providers on scene sit down and talk through the check list to review what was done, what worked well, what didn’t work well, and what we can change to do it better and quicker the next time.  We have found that through this process we have shortened our extrication time from the national average of 30 minutes (our average in1997) to 12 minutes, our average extrication time today.  Through good QA and critique we feel we are providing better patient care. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Training – The Training Division along with the Supervisory staff have re-assessed our minimum standards for employment and have added to those standards. ALS applicants need to have ACLS, PALS, BTLS, CPR.  Basic Vehicle Rescue (BVR) was added in 2001 as a requirement for employment.    We added to the standard BVR course through the help of UPMC Pre-Hospital Services.  We use a cadaver lab during the patient packaging/mechanism of injury lecture and use the advanced airway manikins (Sim-Man) as patients during the scenario phase of training.  This allowed us to not only assess the student’s extrication skills but also their patient care skills.

 

All staff members go through proficiency testing once a year to keep there career or volunteer positions. 27 areas have been identified as needing to be evaluated, 8 of these would be mandatory yearly and the rest would be random year to year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conferences and Outside classes– Ross/West View EMSA pushes it personnel to further their training.  The Training Division covers the cost of conference registration, lodging, and substance for staff going to conference or classes.  Every year we have personnel go the JEMS conference, EMS Update conference, EMSI conference, PA State EMS Conference, FDIC and The Next Step Heavy Rescue class.   Our staff also presents at different conferences, some of the topics presented in the past few years are: Rehab operations, Rescue Medicine, Vehicle Rescue Overview, Rope Rescue, Truck & Bus Rescue, Occupant Protection Systems for Emergency Responders, and Airbag awareness