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First responders carry ‘patient’ Sara Higgins to shore during EMS training in King George.

While people with little or no medical training learned how to stop bleeding from accidents or injuries on one side of the Rick’s on the River restaurant, experienced fire and emergency workers on the other enhanced their rescue skills on land, air and water.

Last week marked the first time since the pandemic that area first responders gathered in-person for their monthly EMS Night Out training, said Christina Rauch, emergency medical services coordinator for Mary Washington Healthcare. She worked with trauma services, King George first responders and the medical helicopter service out of Shannon Airport, PHI Medical AirCare2 to simulate a rescue session after a jet ski accident.

An 18-year-old “patient,” Sara Higgins, pretended to be bleeding and semiconscious, just off the shoreline in the Potomac River.

Rescuers from the King George Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services deployed “Fire Boat 1,” a customized watercraft acquired in June. The $117,000 boat was paid for exclusively by state grants, not local tax dollars, said Chief David Moody.

It marks the first time King George has a watercraft specifically designed for fire and rescue missions as it’s equipped with a 500 gallon-per-minute pumper. In the past, the county has taken donated fishing boats and repurposed them, and it’s great to have a customized vessel, said Jay Hynson, battalion chief in charge of special operations.

While rescuers typically provide patient treatment after pulling them from the water, for the purposes of the exercise, Hynson’s team carefully placed Higgins on a portable stretcher called a Stokes basket and brought her to the shore. There, at four different stations, rescuers described the treatment such a patient would need whether she was being transported by ambulance or helicopter to a hospital or trauma center.

Flight Paramedic Amy Cantwell helped coordinate the scenario, breaking down the call into training segments where students can ask questions. In the real world, “we’re in and out so fast,” there’s no time for conversations, she said.

Rescuers at the training asked about the care provided on board the helicopter, how it’s decided where the patient will go and how on-the-ground rescuers can better prepare those for transport, said Sarah Staley, a flight nurse.

Being able to network, meet people face-to-face and build a rapport with those she works with regularly “was definitely amazing,” Staley said.

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First responders carry ‘patient’ Sara Higgins to shore during EMS training in King George.

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