BANGOR, Maine — LifeFlight of Maine has opened a new simulation training lab in Bangor, helping first responders better prepare for situations they encounter in the field.
The new lab comes with a human manikin that can breath, talk, and show signs of medical conditions for first responders to recognize and decide how to treat.
"We can really take real-world scenarios that crews have encountered and create it in a simulation environment," LifeFlight Chief Clinical Officer Chuck Hogan said.
Hogan added they record each simulation. Once first responders finish their treatment, educators review the performance with their students to discuss what was done correctly and what needs improvement.
“This facility allows us to incorporate more reality into our training that we didn’t have before because we were just having to bring our equipment into hallways, classrooms, garages, parking lots, and wherever we could find an open flat space," Steve Babin, senior clinical educator for LifeFlight of Maine, told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Babin said the new lab is mobile, allowing it to be taken to other agencies like fire and rescue departments to better prepare them for medical emergencies.
"We just finished a training with Bangor Fire Department," Hogan said. "We put them through simulations that were really driven by what they felt they needed to work on at that time."
LifeFlight of Maine's Bangor base isn't alone in getting a new lab. Bases in Lewiston and Sanford also built similar labs with a $250,000 grant from the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation.
LifeFlight cared for more than 2,300 patients in 2021 and has transported more than 34,000 patients since it was launched in 1998, according to the organization.