Red Cross Leads First ALS Course for Military Medics

The American Red Cross continues to build momentum after announcing its market entry for resuscitation education last month by facilitating the organization’s first advanced resuscitation courses to medical professionals at the Uniformed Services University. This event marks the next phase in the Red Cross collaboration with the Military Training Network as its exclusive training provider for resuscitation and first aid education.

As part of the Red Cross Resuscitation Suite™ education programs, Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) are based on an innovative new educational approach that combines flexibility with current science to offer a scientifically equivalent and educationally superior curriculum. These programs were part of the military’s week-long training for 178 students in the third year of their clinical training aspect of medical school as well as Military Training Network instructor candidates and military leadership including:

• Brigadier General Sharon Bannister, MD, Deputy Assistant Director, Education and Training, Defense Health Agency, Defense Health Headquarters;
• Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Dean of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the country’s only federal medical school; and
• Paul Cordts, MD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Defense Health Agency

The instruction took place under the auspices of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, whose primary mission is to prepare students for service as physicians, advanced practice nurses, dentists, and scientists in the Military Health System.

“The collaboration with the Red Cross is beneficial to the Military Health System,” said Air Force Brigadier General Bannister. “Partnerships have and will continue to be key to our strategy and vision to remain on the leading edge of enhanced provider readiness and quality patient care.”

“The U.S. military is a world-class operation that expects world-class results. Our resuscitation education will enable the learner to act, make the correct decisions, and improve team dynamics and the patient experience whether in the hospital or the field,” added David Markenson, MD, the newly-appointed Chief Medical Officer for the Training Services division of the American Red Cross.

In recognition of the Red Cross resuscitation program and long-standing involvement and support of EMS education, the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE) named the organization to its Board of Directors. CAPCE oversees continuing education in EMS, including the development of continuing education standards to which the Red Cross will now be contributing.

The new resuscitation education programs meet certification and licensing requirements for healthcare, EMS and other public safety professionals. Additional program details are available at www.redcross.org/healthcare.