Center for Medical Simulation Hosts Alaskan Healthcare Providers for Frontline Training
The opportunity to train for frontline medical cases in rural areas is limitless with simulation. Recently Harvard’s CMS hosted Alaskan healthcare educators to provide a master course in the latest simulation learning best practices:
Recently, Harvard’s Center for Medical Simulation hosted two Alaskan healthcare providers, Susan Davis, EMT, CHP-c, and Danita Koehler, MD. Susan and Danita came to CMS representing Eastern Aleutian Tribes , a healthcare corporation working alongside the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to provide health services to communities in the Aleutian Islands and on the Alaska and Kenai peninsulas. These programs are part of the Alaska Community Health Aide Program, which provides resources to a network of more than 550 healthcare providers serving more than 170 rural villages throughout Alaska. ANTHC is Alaska’s second largest healthcare employer, with over 2,500 employees.
Sponsored Content:
Susan and Danita attended the CMS Comprehensive Instructor Workshop in order to further their goal of bringing simulation training to these healthcare programs. The Community Health Aides / Practitioners who work in the CHAP program are the primary providers in their communities, working with limited resources to provide health education, prevent disease and injury, and ensure safe water and sewer services. These community providers work in conjunction with remote providers at hospitals, using teleconferencing to examine patients, discuss treatment options, and determine whether medevac resources are required in critical situations.
Simulation training will allow these frontline providers to safely train on and improve response times to many potential clinical situations, including early recognition of crucial signs and symptoms for issues like shock, sepsis, and psychiatric distress. Having spent a week at CMS training with an international and interprofessional team of healthcare providers, Susan and Danita are now better equipped to create, operate, and evangelize simulation programs for their healthcare organizations and their communities.
Do you train for rural healthcare with simulation? Tweet us @HealthySim and let us know how!
Learn more on the Harvard Med Sim Website
Sponsored Content:

Lance Baily, BA, EMT-B, is the Founder & CEO of HealthySimulation.com, which he started while serving as the Director of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas back in 2010. Lance is also the Founder and current Chairman of the Board of SimGHOSTS.org, the world’s only non-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals operating healthcare simulation technologies. His new co-edited Book: “Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Operations, Technology, and Innovative Practice” is available now. Lance’s background includes serving as a Simulation Technology Specialist for the LA Community College District, EMS fire fighting, Hollywood movie production, rescue diving, and global travel. He lives with his wife Abigail in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sponsored Content:
Leave a Response