EMS Education
Medical equipment, supplies, and educational materials have been donated from U.S. EMS agencies and product manufacturers to assist the Kenyan people in fostering the development of a coordinated emergency services system. To date, over 600 individuals have been trained throughout the country.
The need for individuals trained in the administration of Emergency Medical Care is as great as the need for healthcare in rural areas. The same factors that prohibit impoverished and isolated areas from receiving any kind of healthcare are the same ones that impact emergency care and transportation: extremely poor road conditions, lack of transportation to distant inland and island areas, decreased availability of equipment, lack of trained personnel, and inadequate communication capabilities. The gravity of the situation is not apparent until experienced first hand. It is not uncommon for people to walk several miles to get help, or to travel several hours for specialized procedures, if transport is available. Many times the sick or injured do not make it to their intended destination.
EMS Education
These overwhelming conditions led paramedics from the United States to begin teaching for SHARE in Kenya in 1993. The first course was held in Homa Bay, one of the worst areas that needed the most help. The course material consisted of anatomy and physiology, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques, basic airway management, control of bleeding and the treatment of shock, fracture management, spinal immobilization, and burn treatment. The course has since been expanded to include water rescue techniques, basic extrication evolutions, advanced airway management, and intravenous fluid administration. The courses are centered on accessing patients, assessing and correcting life threatening problems, and maintaining the sick or injured until delivered to an appropriate receiving facility. Improvisation is a key course concept, as materials and equipment are very often limited. Bandages are frequently used over and over after having been cleaned and then sterilized in the sun, ‘disposable’ gloves are washed and used again, tape is reclaimed and re-rolled, and it is not uncommon for needles to be sharpened, sterilized, and reused.
EMS Education
There are several important and easily attainable goals in each training session. The first is cooperation among the police, prehospital and in-hospital providers, fire fighters, and members of the community. There has been a longstanding rift between these groups, mostly due to misunderstandings of job duty, and misconceived notions of job performance. During the practical portion of each session, the groups get a chance to work together, learn about each other, and how they can work together. As the rift closes during class time, the ability of the system to get help to the sick or injured, and provide better emergency care for the community improves drastically. Another very important and attainable goal is to get trainers from the classes out to the surrounding communities, to teach prevention and basic emergency management skills. The philosophy of SHARE is to teach how to fish, rather than provide the fish time and time again.
EMS Education
EMS Education is a noble goal that requires dedication from the student as well as the instructor. There are currently no solid Emergency Medical Services training institutes in Kenya; that is something the paramedics and board of SHARE would like to change. A long-term goal is to build and staff a training institute that would provide EMS education programs for members of the community, fire fighters, police personnel, and emergency medical services personnel, as well as park rangers and lodge personnel in the parks systems. The programs would vary from basic community first-aid courses to advanced paramedic courses, and be able to draw from many parts of the country, giving back in education and critical services what the country so desperately needs.
EMS Education
In addition to launching educational programs, future visions include enhancing the current emergency medical care system. In the Lake Victoria region, it takes many hours of transportation along a very unforgiving and dangerous road to get to a hospital. This worsens in the presence of rain or nightfall. For a critical patient this is a fatal option; for a moderately ill patient, the survivability statistic is still acutely low. The solution to this problem is appropriate travel across the lake, with adequate communication among outlying areas and centralized advanced facilities. The ability to provide fundamental care to the coastal populations of Kenya, as well as assist neighboring countries, and interact with international medical services would help to bring Kenya’s health care closer to what we in a super nation have come to expect. So far, paramedics volunteering for SHARE have trained over 600 people to be able to deliver emergency medical care for the ill and injured throughout Kenya.