Mobile emergency medical training trucks headed to Montana's rural and remote areas

Inside a Simulation in Motion truck

Montana, one of the largest states in area but one of the smallest in population, on Monday unveiled three mobile simulation-training trucks "equipped with high-tech equipment that will be used to train emergency responders and rural hospitals," Phil Drake reports for the Great Falls Tribune. Gov. Steve Bullock said the trucks, which were provided through a $4.6 million Simulation in Motion Montana grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, "will help in times where rural departments have to decide between paying for training or paying for gasoline for emergency vehicles."

"The main goal is to provide education and training to rural emergency medical services and hospitals for training on advanced trauma and cardiac life supports," Drake writes. The trucks, which also will be available at universities, simulate "an emergency room and the back of an ambulance. The patient simulation 'manikins' are computerized training tools that talk, breathe, have heartbeats and can react to medications and other actions. They can live or die, and can be revived over and over again, officials said."

Officials say the number of people joining volunteer fire departments in the state’s rural districts is declining, Drake writes. They said it also is difficult for people to travel to take the courses, or for employers to allow staff time off to attend training. That is a common trend in rural areas.