FLCC to sponsor 16th annual emergency medical service conference

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Finger Lakes Community College will sponsor the two-day Finger Lakes Regional EMS Council Conference 2013 on Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23, in Geneva.The event starts with workshops on Friday and continues with the main conference on Saturday. All events will be held this year at the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Scandling Center due to construction at the main FLCC campus in Canandaigua.This annual conference keeps emergency medical service workers up-to-date with workshop sessions, for example, on geriatric emergency medicine. Speakers include local physicians Virgil Smaltz of Finger Lakes Health, Frank Edwards of the Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic, and Jack Davidoff, the medical director for FLCC’s EMS program since its inception in 1987.Donna Spink, coordinator of emergency medical services at FLCC, said attendance averages 250 to 300 people, including staff and vendors.Saturday’s keynote speaker is Jon Politis, who has been a firefighter, ski patroller, paramedic and coordinator of paramedic and EMS training programs. He will discuss the role of teamwork in saving lives and the importance of communication to avoid errors.The FLCC EMS program is a 26-year partnership with the Finger Lakes Regional EMS Council, which is charged by the state to assure properly trained emergency medical personnel for Ontario, Wayne, Seneca and Yates counties.  The council contracts with FLCC for a wide range of training and educational services and provides specialized equipment currently housed at the FLCC Geneva Campus Center. The college also offers degree and certification programs for the highest levels of emergency care: paramedic and critical care transport. The FLCC Critical Care Transport Program is the only such program in a 200-mile radius; the next closest is at Hudson Valley Community College.For a full schedule and a registration form, visit www.flremsc.org and click on “conference” in the menu bar. For more information, call (315) 789-0108. Registration cannot be handled via phone, however.