Medical students in Illinois receive hands-on training to respond to grain-entrapment incidents

Confined-space incidents—typically, entrapment in grain bins—have become more common in recent years. They slacked off last year, but remain a concern for agribusiness. In 2015 there were 24 reported incidents of grain entrapment and 47 total confined-space incidents, 25 of them fatal, according to Purdue University's 2015 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities. In 2014 there were 70 confined-space incident reports—the highest total since 2010—and 38 grain-entrapment cases.

University of Illinois School of Medicine at Rockford
student getting grain entrapment training.

Students at the University of Illinois School of Medicine at Rockford are getting hands-on experience in responding to such incidents, Courtney Bunting reports WIFR-23 in Rockford. "Serious and even fatal accidents on farms are a more common problem than many people realize and medical professionals often lack the training they need in order to properly respond to them."

That's why organizations like Stateline Farm Rescue are using simulations as a training technique for these emergencies, Bunting reports. Mark Baker, a coordinator for Farm Rescue, told Bunting, "A lot of these accidents are gonna be a lot more complicated than what we probably are trained for, so that's what we're trying to bring to the table is understanding that maybe additional training is needed."

UI, which already offers a Rural Medical Education Program that specifically educate students to work in rural areas, is in the process of adding a nursing component for fall 2017, Bunting reports. "It will be a 4-year program aimed at meeting the need for rural communities to have more available healthcare nearby." (Read more)