High-tech, life-like mannequins help train future first responders
PEWAUKEE, Wis. - There are more than a dozen new "patients" for first responders in training at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC). They are training mannequins that are so real, people walking by are doing a doubletake.
When Isabelle Buhler rushed into the bathroom to help save an elderly woman, it all seemed so real. Except, the patient was never alive to begin.
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"We opened up the box and I originally thought it was a real human," Buhler said.
Thirteen new, life-like mannequins now populate WCTC's "Human Patient Simulation Lab."
Instructor Courtney Hull said the mannequins were made possible through a $200,000 grant from the Generac Foundation.
"You’ll be able to see freckles, sunspots, wrinkles, hair where they should be," Hull said.
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Each mannequin is different – from newborns to the elderly.
Once an instructor hooks the bodies up to a defibrillator, they can test students' ability to respond by making a patient take a turn for the worse.
Unlike the school's old mannequins, the new, life-like ones can be put anywhere – a bathroom, a stairwell, even an ambulance.
"It also helps them realize they have to manage the patient as a whole. Even moving the patient from the bed to the cot to the ambulance – you have to manage the hair. Make sure the arms are tucked in," Hull said.
Courtney Hull
There is hope the details on these dummies will ultimately help make better, smarter first responders.
"It builds empathy for their patients, it increases their critical thinking skills and decision-making they can make in the field," Hull said.
More than 200 students and current EMS professionals will use the new devices each year for their training.