The community’s help is needed as paramedics from near and far come to Renfrew County to hone their skills.
Renfrew County Paramedic Commander Matt Cruchet explains that volunteers are needed as his team pairs with Algonquin College’s waterfront campus to host two weeks of training on a special ultrasound technique that brings the procedure out of the hospital and into the homes of patients.
The training, which has benefited local paramedics as well as guests from 10 neighbouring services from across Ontario in years past, lets community paramedicine teams assess specific symptoms in order to better diagnose patients and improve treatment.
Cruchet says it’s a tool that his team has been using for years to collaborate with hospital staff and family physicians to make their clinical decision-making better.
He also points out that being able to add the local college’s “top-notch” nursing labs as a central hub has significantly boosted their ability to coordinate the finer details as training gets underway later this month.
All that they need right now are enough volunteers willing to help practice what is a very specific technique in a controlled environment.
The next set of training sessions will run February 17th, 18th, and 19th, and again on March 3rd, 4th, and 5th. There are no restrictions on who can model, and volunteers will be able to opt in to whichever parts of the procedure they feel comfortable with. Those taking part will receive a $25 per hour honorarium via gift card.
Anyone interested can email Debbie at Algonquin College for more details and to sign up.
(written by Kasey Egan)
Cruchet: crew’SHAY
