Advocate Christ Medical Center is the designated POD hospital for Region VII EMS, which incoporates six EMS Systems, 16 hospitals, 115 fire departments & ambulance services, and nearly 5000 EMS providers. Dr. Sean Motzny is the medical director for Region VII. ACMC provides online medical control for over 12,000 ambulance runs/year. Dr. Motzny, Dr. John Konicki, and the EMS staff also run diaster preparedness drills for the region.
All residents complete a 4 week rotation combining EMS and Administration. Additionally, residents complete at least one ambulance ride along and a paramedic lecture at our EMS Academy. We have a yearly EMS field trip where residents learn about and practice skills for HazMat, Search and Rescue, and vehicle extrication. Additionally, EMS lectures and board review are incoporated into our didactic curriculum.
Several of our graduates have gone on to complete EMS fellowships, and/or become EMS directors. Residents that are interested in an EMS experience that goes beyond the standard curriculum will have many opportunities to do so. Residents are encouraged to pursue their interest in EMS as part of their resident project. Past residents have created and instituted a therapeutic hypothermia protocol now used by local EMS systems. Another example is one of our current PGY-3 resident who is serving as Resident Director of EMS, where he will teach EMTs at our EMS academy and in the simulation center, work on projects mentored by our EMS Director, and attend local and regional EMS meetings.