In January, more than 100 coaches, athletic trainers, school nurses, EMTs, paramedics and physicians from throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut learned about identifying and managing sports-related injuries and medical conditions at the second annual Sports Medicine & Trauma Conference, a free, all-day community education program presented by the Hoch Center for Emergency Education at Phelps.
The group was welcomed by Daniel Blum, Phelps President & CEO, who spoke about the fact that people are living longer and participating in sports throughout their lives. Presenters were Phelps emergency medicine physician Kevin Brown, MD; orthopedic surgeons Samuel Hoisington, MD, and Jason Hochfelder, MD; cardiologist Dina Katz, MD; hand surgeon Ari Mayerfield, MD; neurosurgeon Thomas Lee, MD; chief of dental/oral surgery at Phelps Eric Wachs, DMD; dentist David Kaplan, DMD, and Anita Watson, RN, Director of Infection Control at Phelps and a competitive athlete. They spoke about topics including collapse and sudden death of athletes, sports injuries in the upper and lower extremities, diagnosis and management of cartilage injuries in the knee, the heart of the female athlete, spinal trauma and sports-related maxillofacial injuries. “We strive to bring the most current information on topics that are of interest to this audience,” says Emily Kaplan, the Hoch Center instructor who organized the event and introduced the speakers.
Attendance at this conference was more than double that of last year. In addition to describing the conference as interesting and informative, participants commented that it was well run, organized and engaging. “I go to conferences all the time around the country and I am very impressed by the professional quality of what Phelps put together,” said one attendee. To accommodate the large number of individuals who expressed interest in this year’s event, it will be open to a larger number of attendees next year.
Chinese Medical Team Learns from Phelps Emergency Services
Chinese EMS physicians practice on a mannequin in the Hoch Center’s mock ambulance. |
A delegation of 10 emergency medical service physicians from Beijing’s “120” EMS system (the equivalent of the 911 system in the U.S.) recently visited the Hoch Center for Emergency Education at Phelps while touring various EMS centers of excellence across the country. This visit was part of their research for a restructuring of the EMS system in Beijing, China’s capital city.
While at the Hoch Center, Anne Castioni, Coordinator of Emergency Medical Education, lectured about the American EMS system and education. She demonstrated some of the center’s unique educational tools, including high-tech mannequins, which are used to demonstrate medical treatment in a mock ambulance or hospital room. The group also met with Scot Phelps, a current professor of ambulance science at the Emergency Management Academy and former manager of Emergency Life Support programs at Phelps. During their stay, the Beijing delegation also visited EMS agencies in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The Hoch Center for Emergency Education
The Hoch Center for Emergency Education provides a full range of emergency training and education programs in a state-of-the-art facility to paramedics, EMTs, fire and police departments and other emergency healthcare professionals. Programs offered include basic and advanced EMS certification courses, community CPR and first aid courses (including Heartsaver First Aid and Family & Friends CPR), advanced medical education programs including ACLS & PALS, hazardous materials medical response training, medical programs for camps and specialty emergency medical education programs. The center can also design and conduct custom training programs to meet the needs of the medical community at all levels. For more information, call 914-366-3577.