Delta, CO (May 16, 2023) – Delta Health hosted the 13th Annual Western Slope Trauma Conference on May 4 and May 5 to provide vital knowledge and skills for emergency service providers in Colorado.
The conference allows our community and regional partners access to learn about different educational topics primarily trauma related. The first day focused on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers and the second day focused on inpatient providers such as Doctors, Nurses, Techs, and Surgeons.
“Our world is always changing – healthcare and service industry workers know this all too well,” said Kayleigh Wright, RN, BSN, TCRN, Trauma Nurse Coordinator for Delta Health. “I feel like that is what makes this conference so important. We can take new topics that are high risk, and low volume and educate our region. We can educate the Delta community but also our entire region which is extremely important when you live in a rural area.”
This year Delta Health partnered with law enforcement agencies and on the first day of the conference Delta Police Department came for the live event. The live event is a scenario where EMS providers work an exercise scenario where they have to care for multiply injured patients. This allows providers to see different styles of ballistic vests and practice a response should they have to remove them in a real-life situation.
“Hands-on training is huge because it allows for the education to turn into muscle memory for our providers before they even occur,” said Wright. “On the second day, we also offered hands-on education using the ultrasound machine and different case studies. The case studies put things into perspective and were a great addition to this year’s conference. We also had various speakers from around the state of Colorado come to help educate on topics.”
It is important that the Delta Health Trauma Program can host this locally to give providers within the region an opportunity to come to a conference, in person, that is relatively close.
Hallie Blunck is a Delta Health Emergency Department physician and the Trauma Medical Director as well as a partner in the Grand Mesa Emergency Physicians and was one of the speakers at the conference.
“The point I tried to drive home with my lecture and the case study that we did on a patient is that the care of a critically ill patient takes a multi-disciplinary team,” said Blunck. “Everyone from dispatch to EMS teams and Emergency Department to critical care transport and trauma specialty teams at nearby receiving hospitals were integral in helping to care for the patients we discussed.”
Blunck said that bringing together members from all of the various groups and community partnerships to share information and improve the care of our trauma patients helps to elevate everyone and strengthen the chain of care.
“I would like to thank all of those who came and supported our conference as well as those who gave recommendations on topics they would like to hear in the future,” said Wright. “I look forward to hosting more amazing trauma conferences in the years to come.”
To learn more about the Emergency and Trauma services available at Delta Health, visit deltahealthco.org/emergency-services/ or call 970.874.2425.
