MARLTON, N.J. — Special people need special care, particularly the elderly. Now, thanks to Virtua Health’s Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU), emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics throughout the region receive training on how to attend to the special needs of senior citizens in those critical moments before they arrive at a hospital.
“It is crucial that our colleagues in the emergency medical response services (EMS) know that seniors have special needs and these situations require a different approach,” says Scott Kasper,
MS, NREMT-P, MICP, corporate director of Virtua Health’s emergency medical services. “As EMTs and paramedics, it is very important that we are sensitive to and prepared for the patient’s possible physical and mental limitations when caring for them in a pre-hospital setting.”
Virtua’s MICU is the only response team in South Jersey to obtain certification from the Geriatric Education for Emergency Medical Services
(GEMS) nationwide training program. GEMS was designed by the American Geriatrics Society in conjunction with a number of organizations dedicated to caring for the elderly. Nationwide, one in three calls for EMS involve senior citizens and the numbers will grow significantly as the populatio ages and life expectancy increases.
“This training provides an invaluable service to the community,” says Carl Tarbell, vice president of post-acute and senior services at Virtua Health. “Through GEMS, our MICU staff prepares EMTs and paramedics on how to assess the immediate medical situation and empowers responders to identify factors in an older adult’s physical environment or social situation that may cause the patient harm or possibly impede recovery.”
Through the program, EMS responders learn that people over age 60 typically describe symptoms differently than younger individuals and how serious issues such as stroke and heart attack might not be as obvious as they are in younger people. GEMS also provides EMS crews with interactive training on the difficulties seniors face including poor vision and hearing, arthritis, osteoporosis, neurological conditions, common adverse drug reactions, elder abuse and more.
The training program is open to all EMTs and paramedics, including police, fire as well as basic and advanced emergency medical technicians. Classes are being held this June and cost $95 per person. For more information or to register for classes, visit our web site at www.virtua.org or call 1-888-VIRTUA-3 (1-888-847-8823).