GLENDALE, Ariz. — Midwestern University’s Body Donation Program is continuing a joint training initiative with local firefighters, giving crews a chance to practice emergency procedures they will later use on patients in the field.
Across three sessions in late January and early February, Glendale Fire Department firefighters received hands-on training in emergency procedures, including intubation, chest tube placement, intraosseous access for IVs, cricothyrotomy to establish an airway in critical cases, and other lifesaving techniques used in the field each day, the university stated.
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Because all Glendale firefighters must be certified as EMTs and about half are also paramedics, the training was made available departmentwide. Firefighters practiced using donors from Midwestern University’s Body Donation Program, guided by university faculty and staff and healthcare students from the Emergency Medicine Club, allowing participants to refine their skills on real human anatomy before performing them in the field.
“The Midwestern University Body Donation Program and Fire Department/EMS Volunteer Opportunity represents a cutting-edge collaborative approach to prehospital EMS training and education,” Body Donation Program Director April Cornejo said. “Volunteering during this training provides our students with valuable learning experiences along with the collaboration with our local fire departments to better understand the prehospital environment, the challenges it brings, and the important role that EMS personnel have in the care of our patients.”
The cadaver sessions are part of an ongoing partnership between Glendale Fire and Midwestern University that also includes student ride-alongs and a Crisis Response Unit at the Glendale campus. This marks the third year of the training; Peoria Fire held its second annual sessions with the program last September.
