Continuing education for healthcare providers is of crucial importance says Dr. Amy Gutman, Emergency Medical Services Medical Director for Tobey Hospital.

Gutman was the chief organizer for the first-ever Cape & Coast Prehospital Conference held in Marion on Saturday, March 10 at Tabor Academy.

The conference was sponsored by Tobey Emergency Associates and Southcoast Hospital Group and is the first of its kind for the region.

With healthcare being one of the prominent industries in the Southcoast region, Gutman says it’s surprising there hasn’t been one until now.

“It’s challenging; it takes a lot of people, time, and energy,” she said. “Another thing is that some people don’t think there’s a need for one.  I’m about education.  My belief is you don’t know how good you are until you see it.”

Vendors and recruiters in the medical, police, fire, security and military industries highlighted the educational, career, and technological opportunities found in the Southcoast region’s emergency medical care industry.

Lecturers in nursing, emergency care and continuing education hosted seminars throughout the day.

Southcoast Training showed off their top-of-the-line Emergency Medical Training mannequin. Complete with a pulse, life-like speech, and internal organs, the mannequin is used as a teaching tool for their students.

Stryker EMS, a global provider of emergency transport products, featured a yellow van fitted with a mechanized stretcher and patient loading system for ambulances.

Another device, the Armor Rugged Tablet, is a mobile touchscreen computer designed to withstand hazardous work conditions such as the impact from long drops, extreme temperature, and severe weather.

“EMTs and police work in harsh environments, so our products are perfect for their use,” said Timothy Killion, Regional Sales Director for DRS Tactical Systems.

Besides lecturers, presentations included a K9 demonstration courtesy of the Massachusetts Task Force’s FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team.

The training director for the K9 unit showed how the dogs save lives in disaster recovery, as well as how successful they are in finding missing persons.

Many groups, such as the Civic Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, CIEMSS, and Marion Fire and EMS Department, volunteered labor, services, and gifts to the conference in order to keep costs down.

To attend, guests were charged $15. Gutman said that to attend a larger, city-based conference, the cost could run over $1,000.

Based on the support the conference has received, she said she hopes this won’t be the last Cape & Coast Prehospital Conference.