The 28th Annual Crawford County EMS Conference is a free event. It is designed for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals, and anyone interested in learning more about emergency medical services. This year’s conference will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025 beginning at 7:30 am at the Denison High School Fine Arts Center.
Highlights of the Conference
Dana Neemann, Director of Education for CCMH and coordinator of the conference, highlighted several aspect of the event.
“First and foremost, the EMS Conference is free for all attendees. That includes breakfast and lunch. It also includes the contact hours for nurses and EMS personnel who are completing their annual education requirements.”
Neemann described the variety of educational sessions included on the agenda.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer a wide range of topics. Geriatric considerations and trauma will start the day followed by a presentation on mass shooting events. Other training sessions include pre-hospital delivery and management in a rural setting, and pediatric anaphylaxis, along with other equally impressive presentations.”
SIM Iowa
Simulation (SIM) Iowa will be on hand with their truck to provide hands-on training with high-fidelity mannequins. Neemann explained the training with SIM Iowa is “controlled chaos” but without the stress of being in a real life-or-death situation.
“The folks at SIM Iowa are absolutely amazing. At the EMS Conference, they will have two separate scenarios – a postpartum hemorrhage, and a crush injury. The coolest thing about SIM Iowa is the opportunity to work with high-fidelity, simulation mannequins. The mannequins are extremely life-like. Their pupils respond, they have heartbeats and lung sounds. You can feel the pulse and the mannequins can ‘bleed’. It is as close as you can get to a real life situation. It provides immediate feedback on how are you going to handle a similar circumstances in a true emergency setting.”
Opportunity to network with other EMS professionals
Along with the free breakfast and lunch, Neemann confirmed vendors and exhibitors will be on hand with prize drawings at the end of the day. More importantly, she notes the opportunity for networking with like-minded professionals and volunteers.
“We typically see about 100 people register for the conference. Most attendees are from western Iowa, but we also have people who come from nearby states like Nebraska and South Dakota. Many are EMS professionals like EMTs, paramedics, nurses. However, in the past we have also had community members who were interested in learning more about EMS. We’ve also had students considering a career in EMS. With all of our presenters, vendors, exhibitors and SIM Iowa personnel, there will be ample networking opportunities throughout the day.”
Registration Information
Registration for the conference is now open. Neemann directs anyone who would like to attend the conference to register online. Space is limited for the SIM Iowa sessions.
“The best way to manage our registration process is online. We encourage anyone who would like to attend to register as soon as possible for two reasons. First, SIM Iowa sessions are limited and will fill up quickly. Second, early registration helps us to get an accurate count for the meals and snacks we provide during the day. Our registration process also includes a group sign-up. It allows you to pick all of the content you want to attend and register for SIM Iowa at the same time. While we would like to have everyone register in advance, we have also made provisions for those who will register and attend on the day of the event. Nonetheless, if you wait to register on the day of the event, you run the risk of no slots being available for SIM Iowa training.”
Don’t Wait To Register
The Crawford County EMS Conference is a great opportunity to learn about the latest advances in EMS, network with other professionals, and earn contact hours toward license renewal for both nurses and emergency medical services professionals. Everyone who is interested in EMS is encouraged to attend.
Don’t miss out on this free educational event! Register today!
