East Fork Firefighter/Paramedics refresh, learn new skills

Thirteen East Fork Firefighter/Paramedics attended the 21st annual Paramedic Refresher and Continuing Education event hosted by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District in Incline Village last week.

Dennis Cote, East Fork Fire engineer and paramedic, said the paramedic refresher is well known to be one of the best EMS conferences in the area, attended by paramedics from as far away as the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area. Approximately 175 paramedics from the Northern Nevada region attended the conference.

“This conference provides our staff an excellent opportunity to be exposed to some of the most up to date trends in patient care and new tools of the trade,” Cote said. “This then allows us to bring these acquired knowledge, skills and abilities back to the Carson Valley for our customers to benefit from.”

In what is referred to as an “alphabet year,” East Fork personnel participated in mandatory recertification classes in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Life Support (PALS), International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) and CPR. Qualifications were verified through lecture and both written and scenario-based skills testing. The refresher program is approved by the State of Nevada Emergency Medical Services.

Education for the conference is coordinated by John Mohler and Company, who brings in nationally renowned speakers within the EMS industry. The conference is also attended by major equipment manufacturers and distributors displaying the most current and innovative equipment used today.

East Fork paramedics in attendance included Jeff James, Steven Hara, Dennis Cote, Ron Santos, Zac Pedersen, Jonn Plummer, Torill Purvis, Matt Kruse, Matt Smith, Aaron Ghysels, Sky Dwinell, Steve Fletcher and Heidi Neilson.