March 28, 2009 MR 09-02: A Team of Sussex County Paramedics competed and earned a Silver Medal for their performance in the “2009 JEMS Games.” This competition was held on March 26-27, 2009 during the “EMS Today Conference” in Baltimore, Maryland, an annual educational conference and exposition for pre-hospital care providers. Sussex County’s team included Paramedics Michael Carunchio, Jeff Cox, Stuart Henley, and Jill Wix. This year’s competition included fourteen teams from thirteen different agencies from across the United States.

During the Competition, Paramedic teams were judged on their performance and speed during mock patient care situations and scenarios. The final phase of the competition included a simulated bar fight scene with several mock victims with critical injuries and bystanders interfering with the scene and one person acting violently toward the EMS crews. Paramedics were evaluated on their ability to identify, assess, and provide simulated treatments to mock victims during a chaotic and sometimes hazardous environment.

Teams from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue finished first, while Sussex county EMS placed second and the team from Virtua Health, from New Jersey placed in third. Previous competition teams from Sussex County EMS in the JEMS Games have earned gold medals in 2005 and a silver medal in 2006. Sussex County EMS also placed third during the Magen David Adom (MDA) 2008 Olympics, an international EMS Competition in the Dead Sea region of Israel. “Our team’s placement in this competition reflects highly on the skill and dedication of these team members and our entire organization back home,” said Glenn Luedtke, Sussex County EMS Director. Vance Phillips, President, Sussex County Council added, “We congratulate our Paramedics on this achievement as we recognize the high quality service they provide to Sussex County residents and visitors each day."

###