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A Sussex County paramedic team is preparing to put all its training on the line in the international spotlight. The team is preparing to leave for Israel to compete in an international emergency medical services competition.
Consisting of paramedics Holly Donovan of Lewes, Stuart Hensley of Laurel and Jill Wix of Felton, along with operations manager Robbie Murray of Frankford as alternate, the team has been invited by Megan David Adom Israel, the Israeli national emergency medical services (EMS) system, to participate in the three-day Israel International EMS Championship Sept. 7-9.
The Sussex team is the only team representing the United States in the 12-country competition, said Glenn Luedtke, Sussex County EMS director.
During the competition, the Sussex team will board an ambulance with an Israeli emergency medical technician-paramedic and youth volunteer and be exposed to 11 scenarios with actors, simulated patients and high-tech mannequins as victims. The team will respond to each scenario and render care.
They will be evaluated on patient care and the speed with which the patient is readied for transport to the hospital. “The scenarios will range from everyday medical calls to seldom-seen mass casualty incidents,” Murray said.
He said the team will respond to 10 scenarios during the day and one at night – all in the deserts of the Dead Sea region in southeastern Israel.
“This is as real-world as you can get,” said Luedtke. “They will not only gain knowledge from the competition, but also be able to observe teams from other countries.”
On Sept. 10, the team will attend a conference with one of their own, Murray, as a featured speaker. He is considered an expert in the field of capnography, or the measurement of carbon dioxide in exhaled breath. That measurement provides paramedics with an immediate snapshot of a patient’s condition.
Sussex paramedics are not strangers to competition. A team that included two of the current members, Donovan and Hensley, has competed in the prestigious Journal of Emergency Services competitions every year since 2005, winning a gold medal in 2005 and a silver medal in 2006. The team was invited to compete internationally in Australia in 2007 but could not attend.
Luedtke said competitions are learning experiences. “The job of EMS is half science and half art,” he said. “The art in this business is the variety of approaches.”
He said all paramedics do not do their work the same way: the team will observe a wide variety of approaches firsthand. “It will be a good education for everyone,” Luedtke said.
County Administrator David Baker said the invitation to compete at the international level is a reflection of the competence of Sussex County EMS. “This reflects the level of service our paramedics provide to Sussex County,” he said.
Costs associated with the trip, excluding airfare, are being paid by the host organization. Other countries sending teams include the Czech Republic, Canada, Poland, Turkey, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany and Israel.
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