A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES:
VIRTUA EMS EMPLOYEES CARE FOR OLDER ADULTS LIKE NO ONE ELSE

Virtua paramedic Rhonda Craig believes that GEMS training enhances care for older adults.

Virtua Paramedic Rhonda Craig, NREMT-P, cared for her grandmother for three years. "I installed grab bars and railings throughout the house, removed throw rugs to prevent falls and gave her medications. I thought I knew everything," says Craig.

When Craig became a Geriatric Education for Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) instructor, she realized there was a lot more to know.

GEMS is an interactive course that helps EMS providers heighten their awareness of the age-related needs of older adults, and to better assess and manage them if they become ill, injured or disabled.

Virtua is the only healthcare organization in South Jersey that offers this national training course to our own EMS team, as well as to those in the region.

Through their eyes
Part of the training involves sensitivity exercises in which participants simulate the special needs of older adults. "These exercises really put you in their shoes and make you much more aware of their needs," says Craig.

The program also empowers first responders to identify environmental and social factors that may be harmful or impede recovery. "We scan patients' homes to get a feel for their living conditions. This information gives us valuable clues about their health and well-being," explains Craig.

Craig's training helped during a recent call to a patient's home. She first noticed a maze of filled groceries bags leading her to another room in which an elderly woman was on a bed covered with food and magazines. Her husband was sitting next to her. "I had an odd feeling as soon as I walked into the house," says Craig. She removed six layers of clothes just to take the woman's vital signs and noticed that the woman was dirty, and there were bruises all over her body.

Once Craig saw she was stable, she discussed the woman's condition with the couple. She became concerned about the husband's mental status. "He had become so obsessed with his wife's condition, he wouldn't leave her side for even a moment," says Craig.

More than medicine
Craig was sure this couple needed more than medical attention. Her GEMS training armed her with the resources to get the care they needed. "We have a host of agencies that we can refer people to as a result of GEMS training," says Craig. Social services stepped in and gave this couple the care they needed to live an independent and safe life in their own home.

The difference
"In the past, I may have concentrated on the woman's medical complaint and not addressed her environmental, social or psychological needs. I am now more in tune with a patient's overall well being, and I was able to give the couple care that extended beyond their initial complaint," says Craig.