NICC to use mobile training lab to train emergency care providers in Decorah

Northeast Iowa Community College staff members will begin traveling Decorah and five other locations in Northeast Iowa starting in January to train emergency care providers using the college's Mobile Emergency Treatment Center. The mobile training lab, which is a realistic ambulance setting constructed within a 40-foot motor home, is the State of Iowa's only emergency medicine simulation lab on wheels.

The Mobile Emergency Treatment Center, owned and operated by the University of Iowa EMS Learning Resource Center, offers interactive training with anatomically accurate mannequins to train participants to make medical decisions, prepare for the unexpected and take timely actions during realistic patient care scenarios.  Decorah area EMS staffers can enroll through NICC's Continuing Education department for four hours of EMS Continuing Education credit.

The unique center gives physicians, nurses, paramedics and other emergency care providers the opportunity to stay current in their professions using the latest in medical care technology.  In addition to Decorah, the mobile training lab will visit Cresco, Elkader, Waukon, Oelwein and New Hampton.

"The mobile lab will let EMS personnel experience a realistic cardiac code," said NICC Emergency Services program manager Kristi Brockway.  She added, "Providers will be able to do hands-on CPR and airway training and, at the end, will receive constructive feedback to build their skills."