OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – If you have to call 911 because your child has an emergency medical situation, Osceola County has some of the best-trained firefighters in the state.
The Kissimmee and St. Cloud Fire Departments have just been recognized among Florida’s top six pediatric emergency care providers.
What they learned will save a child’s life. From practicing incisions on pigs’ lungs to learning how to stop someone from choking, firefighters in these departments are trained for any type of emergency.
“You name it, we’re able to practice on here. And that gives them that hands-on experience so that they feel more comfortable when they go out into the setting and actually take care of these kids,” said Dr. Ayanna Walker.
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Walker is an emergency medicine physician and the medical director for the St. Cloud and Kissimmee Fire Departments.
She has worked with both to achieve a major milestone in pediatric emergency care, earning the prestigious gold-level recognition in the Florida Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Program.
At the Kissimmee Fire Department, EMS Chief Eric Gentry told News 6 about some of the new equipment they bought just for children.
“Just one of the things that we purchased to help us get better was a pediatric restraint system that goes on the stretcher, and this goes from infant up to a small pediatric child,” said Gentry.
Kissimmee Fire Chief Jim Walls says he is proud of his team for undergoing strenuous hours of training for the past year.
He told News 6, " We’ve trained. So when they get on the call, the second nature they’re they know the airway to do they know the medications or do they know the facility they go to and they’re just prepared to treat that patient to the level that they need to be treated and transported and save a child’s life."