College of DuPage Earns State ICCCA Award for First Responder Simulation

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Dec 04, 2014, 02:00 ET

GLEN ELLYN, Ill., Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- College of DuPage recently received an Illinois Council of Community College Administrators Innovation Award (ICCCA) for a first responder and health care team collaboration exercise held at the Glen Ellyn campus this spring. Please click here for photos and a video from this event, as well as a news segment from NCTV-17.

College of DuPage recently received an Illinois Council of Community College Administrators Innovation Award (ICCCA) for a first responder and health care team collaboration exercise held at the Glen Ellyn campus this spring.

Specifically, COD received the award for its submission "Strengthening Division Teamwork: An Innovative Approach to Student Collaboration." The exercise, held in April, included a multi-disciplinary simulation involving students and professionals from the College's EMT, Nursing, Computed Tomography (CT), Surgical Technology, Nuclear Medicine and Respiratory Care programs, as well as members of the College's Police Department and Homeland Security Training Institute (HSTI).

"This exercise set the bar in terms of first responder collaboration in a controlled critical response environment," said COD Chair Erin Birt. "The simulation utilized our incredible first responder training equipment and advanced facilities, including the Homeland Security Education Center's 4,600 square-foot indoor street scene and full-scale ambulance, as well as the Health and Science Center's Hospital Simulation Lab, CT Scanner, Nuclear Medicine Lab and Simulated Operating Room."

The multi-disciplinary simulation took two months to plan and began with a domestic dispute between a couple in one of the Homeland Security Education Center's "apartments." Violence ensued, with the husband shooting his wife and starting their apartment on fire, causing one child to jump from the second floor balcony with a second child to remain trapped in the apartment. Actors portrayed the arguing couple, while two high-tech mannequins were used as the children and were programmed with varying injuries.

"The collaborative nature of this exercise, which involved students, faculty, administrators and professional first responders as well as six of our Health Sciences programs, exemplifies learning at College of DuPage," said President Dr. Robert L. Breuder. "The facilities we have available for our students are some of the best in the country. Gaining knowledge through this type of exercise leads to incredible growth and marketability for our students when they start their search for careers in the fast-paced world of health care and first responder occupations." Please click here to read more.

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SOURCE College of DuPage