UCLA Center for Prehospital Care

September 2005 - Rosa Calva, UCLA Client Services Manager and first generation Mexican-American, developed a unique course to help teach paramedic students Medical Spanish for use during their clinical and field internships in Los Angeles. The first of its kind in the country, Rosa recently won a research award for the program at the National Association for EMS Educators Conference. Her research showed that over 40 percent of the non-Spanish-speaking paramedic students in the group tested saw an improvement in their ability to communicate with predominantly Spanish-speaking patients after completing the Medical Spanish class. Rosa says the short 8-hour course delivered throughout the paramedic education program helps with pronunciation, awareness of cultural and gender differences and teaches communication with respect and compassion. The paramedic students also receive a handy “pocket guide” of key Spanish phrases for quick reference on the job.

June 2005 - Directed by Registered Nurse Lyn Riley , the Center's Fire Department and Law Enforcement Continuing Education and Quality Assurance Division began its service to the Redondo Beach Fire Department. The Division will provide personalized onsite continuing education and quality improvement services to the department. Since joining the Center in 2002, Lyn has expanded the Division by adding five departments. Lyn and her eight - member team of both paramedics and nurses work hard to serve these departments as advocates for EMTs, Paramedics and the EMS system and the patients they serve.

May 2005 - UCLA Center for Prehospital Care will be hosting Tim Phalen's course Capnography in Emergency Care and Introduction to 12 - Lead ECG in Acute Coronary Syndrome on May19th & 20th. Course will be held at the UCLA-Daniel Freeman Paramedic Education Program and the Veterans Memorial Complex, respectively. Medtronic Emergency Response Systems is the proud sponsor for these special courses. For more information on attending, please contract Cynthia Bowers at (800) 442-1142 ext. 2764.

UCLA Launches Online Services for Students

April 2005 - The Center launched a new student registration and record system. This exciting online application provides students the ability to enroll for courses, check grades, download documents, track their progress, and much more – all in the convenience of their home. The platform was designed with the student and instructors needs in mind. The website now offers easy access to course information, schedules, important documents, employment opportunities, and much more. The site can be accessed at www.cpc.mednet.ucla.edu.

research Grants for EMS Studies

April 2004 - The Prehospital Care Research Forum in conjunction with National Association of EMTs (NAEMT), National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE), and Jems Communication, announced several research grants available for 2005. “Lack of funding is frequently sited as one of the major obstacles to conducting research. By providing $1,500 in grant funds, these organizations are helping to break down this barrier and increase the quantity and quality of research in EMS,” reports Baxter Larmon, PhD, MICP, director of the Prehospital Care Research Forum and Professor in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Jems will award a grant to study that focuses on the impact of the care that results from having two paramedics versus one plus an EMT. NAEMT has two grants up for grabs in the area of EMS workforce issues or in the area of Prehospital trauma (due July 1). “Original EMS research in the area of workforce and trauma is desperately needed,” said Bob Loftus of the NAEMT Board of Directors. “NAEMT wants to encourage learning more about areas that affect the working lives of EMTs and paramedics and the care of patients. Very little is known about our workforce and often trauma takes a back seat to cardiac issues. We want change that.”

For more information visit www.naemt.org, applications are due July 1^st. NAEMSE has is offering a grant that focuses on basic research in EMS teaching and education. For more information visit www.naemse.org, applications are due June 1st.

Forum Renews Ties with JEMS and NAEMSE

April 2005 - Prehospital Care Research Forum renewed its 2005 Call for Abstracts Agreements with JEMS and NAEMSE. The agreements are the background that provides the EMS community the ability to submit abstracts for presentation and publication at the conferences respectively. For the first time the agreements will be contracted through a 3-year period.

Excellent Research Proves Winners at EMS Today

March 2005 - Abstracts in the categories of clinical, systems, personnel, and management were presented at EMS today 2005 Conference. Congratulations to Scott Eamer, of SSCOR and Andrew Harrell of East Caroline University, Brody School of Medicine for their outstanding abstracts.

Andrew Harrell walked away with the Best Research award for, “Talk is not Cheap. Verbal vs. Written EMS Reports in an Emergency Department Setting”.

Prehospital Care Research Forum is proud to provide an opportunity for EMS providers interested in research and making a difference in the EMS community.

March 2005 - At a community advisory meeting, several members suggested that graduates of the EMT program would benefit by placing more emphasis on ambulance operations. Schaeffer Ambulance made a generous contribution by donating an ambulance to the EMT Training program. The ambulance will be repainted in official UCLA colors and include an acknowledgement for this gift.

February 2005 - Lyn Riley, Med, RN, and fellow members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Air Rescue 5 program were honored on February 7, 2005 at the Helicopter Association International's 44th Annual "Salute to Excellence" awards ceremony at the HELI-EXPO 2005 in Anaheim, California. This award is presented for those whose remarkable talent and professionalism enrich their industry, and whose courage and skills have saved lives under extreme conditions-despite extraordinary odds.

Forum Graciously Thanks 2005 Sponsors

January 2005 - The Prehospital Care Research Forum is committed to creating a body of evidence that examines the practice of prehospital emergency care. This effort would not be possible without the generous support of our partners. The forum recognizes the tremendous support and commitment to EMS research provided by Jems Communications (founding partner), Laerdal (benefactor), SSCOR, Inc. (benefactor), ZOLL (partner) and Medtronic Emergency Response Systems (partner).