Overview

Prehospital Medicine Opportunities

Contact Information

Overview

EMS is an integral part of emergency medicine and is emphasized in our residency program. We also have an active fellowship and paramedic training institute.

Prehospital medical care services are provided by the Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency (Medic) under the medical directorship of Tom Blackwell, MD of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

• Medic responds to greater than 75,000 calls each year, transporting approximately 60,000 patients to area hospitals
• All advanced life support service
• Medical priority dispatch system and a robust system status plan
• Fluid redeployment strategy, along with GIS mobile mapping, all to position ambulances at calculated locations at specific periods of the day.
• Over 200 field employees, 25 telecommunicators, 44 ambulances

Air medical services are provided by Carolinas Medical Center MedCenter Air under the medical directorship of Doug Swanson, MD of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

• Two helicopters
• Three turbo-prop aircraft, and one jet airplane
• Eight ground units
• Over 3,000 patients per year, 1200 flights
• Scene response 40%, interfacility transfer 60 %

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Prehospital Medicine Opportunities

Opportunities for resident participation in prehospital medicine are extensive. / In the PGY-1 year, each resident rides one shift with Medic paramedics during each of four months in the ED. PGY-2 and 3 residents provide online medical control through the emergency department base communications station. A one-month rotation in EMS is required during the PGY-2 year. This rotation incorporates field EMS care with a focuses on the political and patient care issues affecting EMS through participation in quality improvement, run reviews, and other administrative functions. Resident experience in the air medical component is provided as an option for those who wish to participate.

PGY-3 can participate in a one month elective as acting crew member on rotor wing, fixed wing and critical care ground transports, and also participate in the administrative activities of MedCenter Air. They also conduct MedCenter Air M&M and provide on-scene medical control. Resident experience in the air medical component is provided as an option for those who wish to participate.

Carolinas Medical Center has a one or two year EMS Fellowship Program that incorporates the option for a Masters in Public Health Administration as part of the curriculum. Up to two candidates are accepted each year. The program is a Society for Academic Emergency Medicine-Physio Control approved site. Twelve post-graduate fellows have graduated from the program since its inception.

In 1995, the Department of Emergency Medicine established the Center for Prehospital Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. Faculty from the Center provide on-line and off-line medical direction and oversight to the Mecklenburg EMS Agency; MedCenter Air flight service; Charlotte Fire Department; Mecklenburg County volunteer first responder departments; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department SWAT Team, Aviation Unit, Field Forces, and Lake patrol; Charlotte FBI SWAT Team, Charlotte Office of the United States Secret Service; Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Police; and Paramount's Carowinds Theme Park. Medical oversight is also provided for the Carolinas Medical Center's Special Events Medical Service providing emergency medical care at Ericsson Stadium for the Carolina Panthers NFL Team, Lowe's Motor Speedway for major NASCAR events, the Charlotte Coliseum, the Charlotte Convention Center, Knights Stadium for minor league baseball games, and any other mass gathering event in the community. The focal point for all Center activities involves prehospital education. Affiliated with the Carolinas College of Health Sciences, the paramedic training and EMS Degree programs are administered and taught by the Center for Prehospital Medicine's five full-time and three adjunct faculty members.

Faculty from the Center for Prehospital Medicine have been instrumental in developing and administering the Advanced Local Emergency Response Team (ALERT). This is a multi-agency team of law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical personnel designed mitigate a terrorist incident involving a weapon of mass destruction resulting in mass casualties. The Team has received National notoriety as one of the top programs in the United States.

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Contact Information

Emergency Medical Services Fellowship
Department of Prehospital Medicine
Attn: Stacy Caldwell
Staff Assistant
Medical Education Bldg., 2nd Floor
1000 Blythe Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: 704-355-8660
Email: Stacy.Caldwell@carolinashealthcare.org

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