SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- An emergency can come up at any place and at any time and even near bodies of water.
Sussex County EMS paramedics and other local first responders simulated situations to prepare them for all types of medical emergencies. Captain of the Delaware Natural Resources Police Nicholas Couch says every emergency and its response is different.
"Something that necessitates a CPR or a heart attack on a boat. A diabetic emergency," Couch said. "This might be a scenario where our officers would have to run a paramedic out to serve that individual or we may bring that individual back to the dock so the paramedics can serve that individual."
Sussex County EMS and other first responders hopped into boats and attended as fast as they could to two patients in a boating accident. One needing CPR and the other suffering injuries. They determined one needs to be taken by boat for more treatment.
On the other side of the inlet, another accident where the patient had spinal cord injuries and is moved from the beach to an ambulance.
Sussex County EMS Education Coordinator Matt Troutman says there is a theme to any situation no matter how serious it is.
"I started off the presentation by saying the definition of teamwork," Troutman said. "And we’ve been really able to pull that off four times this month to get through 100+ medics and almost fifty different individuals from lifeguards to DNREC officers as well as EMT’s and firefighters."
Delaware State Beach Patrol was assisting the trainees with the treatment of the spinal cord injury on the South Side. Captain Kris Knutsen echoes the teamwork not just within his patrol but the relationship between local first responders and his team.
"The quality is there and again just the teamwork of me being able to tell these guys from a medic perspective what is wrong with the patient instead of a lifeguard saying you know I don't know what happened here he is," Knutsen said.
Sussex County EMS hopes to collaborate with more local first responders in the future to participate in more joint simulations.