The state Department of Health is partnering with Avel eCare to give emergency medical personnel continuing education credit while they respond to calls.
Leaders hope the new approach will relieve burnout for rural ambulance services.
Emergency medical technicians must renew their license every two years. That process includes 40 hours of continued education and training. But most of the state’s EMTs are volunteers, which means they’re required to spend additional money and time to train for a job they do for free.
The new continuing education program allows first responders to count time they spend connected with Avel telemedicine during an emergency towards their continued education credit.
Becky VandeKieft is VP of Avel eCare's EMS service line. The service connects ambulance crews with board-certified medical personnel in the Sioux Fall’s headquarters for real-time clinical assistance.
“It’s a win-win for them," she said. "Not only being active and responding to a 911 call, but then getting the credit and the education that I’m doing while I’m working on that call is pretty cool and really one of the first in the nation.”
This isn’t the first time Avel has partnered with the state. The Telemedicine in Motion program started under the Noem administration nearly three years ago. The program used federal funds to equip 109 ambulances across the state with audio-visual equipment to connect with Avel as needed.
John Gruber is the EMS operations manager with Avel eCare. He says the service is especially helpful in rural areas where responders could go months without performing certain procedures.
“We’ve been on calls with a brand new EMT that said, ‘Okay, I’ve done this in school, so I know what I’m doing, but can you just help me? What things should I take into the house that I need to go in to help this patient?’ And then we’re able to walk them through, you know, just making sure that they were doing the right steps that they learned how to do and just support them in that way," he said.
EMS personnel in South Dakota can start earning continuing education credit through this partnership starting Aug. 25. Avel eCare hopes to expand the new program model to other states in the near future.
