A new simulator at Lenoir Community College is giving Emergency Medical Service students first-hand experience with a rollover car.
The simulator is comprised of the body of a 1994 Grand AM and a lift, which takes the car off the ground and can be rotated like a spit over a fire pit.
Because of this design, students and instructors call it The Rotisserie.
The concept came from looking at EMS magazines and it was built primarily by students in the LCC mechanical shop, Wayne Rummings, LCC’s director of Public Safety Education, said.
The car itself was donated to the Automotive Department through the LCC Foundation, and then found its way to the Public Safety Program.
The goal of the simulator is to teach EMS students to manage car accidents when the car is found in awkward positions, Rummings said.
Instructors set up a variety of scenarios, using dirt and other elements, along with putting themselves and mannequins in the car. Students then have the task of getting the patients out of the car safely. They also learn how to insert breathing tubes and handle other obstacles they might encounter.
The car is not being used by EMS students alone. Kenneth Rhodes, fire and rescue instructor, has his firefighting students work with EMS during certain situations.
The fire students are taught about stabilizing the car itself in order to prevent further injuries to patients, Rhodes said.
Rummings said there are plans to bring in Basic Law Enforcement Training students, as well.
“In the real world, you all have to work together,” Rhodes said.
According to Rummings, LCC has the largest EMS program in the state, with between 800-1,000 students enrolling each year. Some students come from as far away as New York and California to participate in the program.
In addition to the rolling car, the department has other labs to provide hands-on training. Simulations mannequins that can bleed and breathe are used, along with the back of a fully stocked ambulance.
Cameras are mounted in some of the simulations, which allows instructors to provide playbacks for further instruction, Rummings said. There is also the ability to edit and make DVDs of the footage.
Currently, the department has plans to upgrade the rotisserie by adding hinges to the roof so students can access the car if the doors won’t open, Rummings said.
Other plans for the future include upgrading their critical care program to become more real world and expand beyond the current PowerPoint.
“You can sit a student in front of a PowerPoint and give them baseline knowledge,” Rummings said. “But applying real world approaches makes them prepared and marketable for jobs in their communities.”
One of the upgrades planned is designing a helicopter to simulate critical care air transport, Rummings said.
The new critical care program will launch in January, with the helicopter simulator expected to follow a few months later.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nclark763.