Training to save lives, over 250 emergency responders gather at EIRMC EMS Conference
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IDAHO FALLS — A harrowing incident in Clark County involved an EMT who was severely injured in a head-on crash. Multiple agencies from eastern Idaho responded to the rural county and saved her life.
On Saturday, the account of that incident was used to train hundreds of other emergency responders in what ways they can improve in their roles.
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center hosted its 16th annual EMS Conference Saturday where 250 emergency responders from across eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and southern Idaho attended. The event was free and included an education fair, keynote speakers and breakout sessions, which helped responders get the hours needed to renew licenses.
EIRMC spokeswoman Coleen Niemann told EastIdahoNews.com the conference is free to give back and foster the hospital’s relationships with emergency medical services agencies across the region.
“They are that first point of contact for patients and absolutely a vital link in the healthcare chain,” Niemann said. “It is a nod to the fact that in our rural agencies, it might be a little harder for those professionals to obtain the necessary education to maintain their licensures, (as) they are volunteers.”
Niemann said here in Idaho Falls, those first responders are part of a structured EMS program, where many of them are paramedics, but in the more rural areas of eastern Idaho, they are purely volunteers.
“They may not have the same access to education that a paramedic would if he or she is part of an infrastructure like Idaho Falls Fire Department,” she said.
She said the conference allows emergency responders to attain half the education required for their annual credentialing cycle. An emergency medical responder requires 24 hours of continuing education, while a paramedic requires 72 hours to renew their license. These hours are spread over different categories, such as trauma, medical, pediatrics and others.
However, on July 1, 2025, these hours will change, reducing the number of hours needed to renew their license. EMRs will need 15 hours, and paramedics need 60 hours.
One of the speakers, William Hills, medical director of neurology service and neurohospitalist at EIRMC, gave a presentation to help emergency responders understand the signs of a stroke and get patients the help they need.
“The collaborations that we form here at this conference between EMS personnel and the hospital are crucial to patient’s outcome. The education that these EMS personnel have received and their questions during our lectures are just outstanding,” Hills said.
One of the attendees, Sheree Farr, works for Clark County as an emergency manager and EMS director. She said they’ve been coming to the conference every year because they are a volunteer agency, and it allows them to get that education and network with other agencies.
One of the breakout sessions that was hosted was a review of a run, or call for service, where one of the patients was an EMT from her agency who was injured in a head-on crash on Idaho Highway 28. She said these kinds of reviews go over every aspect of the call and what went wrong, but in this case, the things that went well.
Due to Clark County’s rural nature, other agencies came to assist them in this call, where they all had to work together to save the EMT’s life.
“We were able to save a life that day, and we’re really happy about that because she’s pretty special to us,” Farr said.
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