Latest / Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast / Using AI and Virtual Reality to Strengthen EMS Training with Dan LaVallee

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Using AI and Virtual Reality to Strengthen EMS Training with Dan LaVallee · Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast

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  - Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the
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  - Becker's Payer Issues podcast.
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  - I'm thrilled today to be joined by Dan
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  - LaValle, who serves as the associate vice president
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  - of community engagement at UPMC Health Plan. Dan,
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  - appreciate you taking the time to chat with
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  - me on the podcast. Once again, it's it's
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  - good to have you with us. Thank you,
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  - my friend. Great to be with you. Yeah.
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  - So, Dan, we're we're here today to talk
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  - about a new AI powered virtual reality training
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  - tool that you all developed for students,
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  - as a EMS workforce training initiative,
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  - created by by the health plan and by
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  - UPMC.
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  - So talk to us a little bit about
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  - that. Where did this all come from,
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  - and,
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  - ultimately, who's responsible for putting it together?
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  - Absolutely, Jacob. And thanks so much. I mean,
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  - we're just always so excited to share these
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  - stories and what we've learned. And, you know,
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  - we are just so passionate about workforce development
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  - and, you know, helping our community members find
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  - life changing careers that that care for so
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  - many of those in the communities where they
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  - live. And that was kind of the basis
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  - of how we created our overall pathways to
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  - work program several years ago, which has done
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  - just that. We've reached some great milestones of
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  - individuals off Medicaid hired. But then another program
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  - that we call Freedom House. And many of
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  - you, you know, are likely familiar. There was
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  - a recent episode on there, or not so
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  - recent episode on the pit,
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  - that that discussed a little bit about the
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  - historical significance of Freedom House. And basically, it
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  - was the beginning of emergency medical service in
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  - this country, right in neighborhood in Pittsburgh, you
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  - know, where individuals were not being served. It
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  - was very challenging, you know, and it took
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  - individuals that were unemployed at the time and
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  - gave them an EMS training and basically built
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  - what we now know is is EMS across
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  - the country. And it's just a beautiful story.
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  - And, you know, we really felt, and especially
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  - in the the early time of the pandemic,
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  - that it was time for us to restart
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  - that and really bring that legacy of what
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  - we had given so much of the challenge.
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  - So we did just that and, you know,
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  - you know, we started with an EMT
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  - training right out the gates. And then we
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  - really realized though that we could take the
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  - the fundamentals of Freedom House and turn it
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  - into a program that served individuals to get
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  - into kind of the the community health workers
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  - or nursing assistants, working in the hospitals, in
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  - the emergency rooms, even if they didn't go
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  - on to get their EMT. So we've had
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  - 30 successful cohorts. I can't believe that it
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  - is, it has been that. It's been a
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  - wonderful journey in partnership with so many,
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  - workforce development agencies and others. But now we
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  - are back to,
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  - rebuilding that EMT side of the training. And
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  - we're so excited for it. And, you know,
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  - I can't say enough about the wonderful team
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  - that we have that, you know, is running
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  - different trainings of different length and and all
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  - this work that's been great. And I think
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  - what we saw, Jacob, was that, you know,
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  - of course, the current challenges of the EMS
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  - workforce, you know, across the country and, of
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  - course, here. So we wanted to make sure
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  - that we were doing what we could for
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  - a program that we have such strong,
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  - results from, you know, to make this work.
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  - And I think,
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  - you know, for us in this, it's all
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  - about making sure that we help our students
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  - succeed. So many, you know, are, are balancing
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  - so much in their life, from work to
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  - childcare to others, and, you know, are really
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  - working at this without so many of the
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  - supports needed. So what we tried to do
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  - is make sure that we did this right.
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  - And I think a cool thing that we're
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  - talking about today was this AI powered VR
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  - simulator, which is a new part of the
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  - partnership.
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  - We realized, I think, that, you know, we
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  - needed to help our students make sure that
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  - they could really simulate what it would be
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  - like. Not that, you know, any traditional
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  - simulator is not valuable. Of course it is.
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  - And of course this does not replace what
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  - we do in the classroom. But I think
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  - the really cool thing, you know, as as
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  - to to see how it works is, you
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  - know, the students put the headset on, there's
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  - a dispatch prompt, they encounter a patient, then
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  - they kinda work through the call by, you
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  - know, speaking with the patient and the actions
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  - and the environment that they're around is just
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  - truly exceptional. And I think,
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  - you know, for us,
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  - what we've tried to do... And again, can't
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  - say enough about our wonderful, you know, leader
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  - of the program, Trevor, who always talks about
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  - how we just need to make sure that
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  - people understand really, you know, how to, you
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  - know, be with people in the most challenging
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  - moments, and their families, and others in a
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  - community. I think that's really been the special,
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  - you know, part of this, just enabling little
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  - more practice in that, being able to do
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  - that because, of course, it's harder to simulate
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  - that,
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  - you know, in in in the real world.
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  - So it's been a wonderful partnership.
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  - You know, the the the basis of it
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  - was,
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  - through partners. And one of those was the
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  - RK Mellon Foundation, one of the largest foundations
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  - in the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania in the country
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  - that is investing in workforce development. We partner
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  - up with,
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  - Partner for Work, which is a workforce investment
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  - board that invests in the program. So, Jacob,
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  - it's true partnership, serving the community, and making
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  - sure that we're doing the best that we
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  - can to help our students get through and
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  - get to the best pass rate and make
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  - a difference in our communities.
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  - Very cool, Dan. And and I I wonder
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  - if you could just dive deeper for us
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  - a little bit in terms of,
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  - what EMT training led by an AI powered
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  - VR simulator, what does that actually look like
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  - in the classroom? I know you touched on
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  - that,
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  - but can you walk us through a little
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  - bit more in detail?
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  - Sure. Happy to. So, you know, I think
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  - the great thing is, of course, we learn
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  - all about the regular,
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  - anatomy, all the other parts of the course
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  - that are so important over a several week,
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  - you know, period. But, you know, what what
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  - has been so different, I think, about this,
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  - is that, you know, we've been able to
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  - to help students really get into the kind
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  - of an immersive emergency scenario, which is so
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  - hard again to simulate. So, of course, we'll,
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  - you know, do all the classroom training that
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  - we need, but then we'll have the students
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  - put this, you know, put the headset on
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  - and make sure that, you know, they can
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  - practice repeatedly
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  - in the classroom setting and really kinda independently
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  - in that interactive environment. It reinforces kind of
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  - how we do verbal communication,
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  - you know, kinda the the clinical sequencing of
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  - it, if you will, around when, you know,
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  - the the type of care needed, how that,
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  - you know, works from kind of a decision
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  - making side as well when you're in the
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  - middle of a very challenging time with with
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  - somebody and families and others in the community.
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  - So I think, you know, the the cool
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  - thing is, of course, you know, other EMT
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  - simulators exist and they're they're great, but we
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  - really wanted to make sure that we're reinforcing,
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  - you know, how how you communicate, how you
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  - do these things in so many of the
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  - the the challenging environments that are that are
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  - out there. So, you know, it's it's just,
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  - I think, you know, I think the beautiful
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  - thing,
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  - is, you know, that it helps our students
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  - kinda reduce their anxiety and build confidence and
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  - help them really understand, you know, the difference
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  - between kind of textbook exam preparation and real
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  - real world, you know, patient care. And we're
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  - we're so confident that it could be something
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  - that is, you know, hopefully replicated. It was
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  - used in the first class and,
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  - you know, Trevor and then our wonderful medical
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  - director who is, an ER doc herself, you
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  - know, they... They've loved it and then been
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  - so willing to to try and and and
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  - do things that are different, you know, and
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  - and that's what we're all about here is
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  - making sure that we can, you know, try
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  - and, you know, see what works and, you
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  - know, replicate into the future, Jacob. 100%.
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  - So more realistic,
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  - experience with what your EMTs will will actually
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  - go through in the real world.
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  - And and I understand you have a 100%
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  - certification pass rate for the most recent class
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  - that used the simulator. So what are you
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  - attributing that to specifically, and can you talk
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  - to us about how you're measuring whether this
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  - tool is actually driving
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  - better clinical readiness versus just better test taking?
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  - You know, that's a great question, Jacob. I
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  - will say the the number one thing I
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  - attribute that success to is our just exceptional
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  - team. You know, I mean, we've, you know,
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  - really built this up over years. We have
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  - social work,
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  - social worker on the team that is helping
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  - individuals with any barriers that they might have
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  - to class, you know, other types of supports
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  - here that we didn't have in the beginning
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  - when we started this. And I think that's
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  - been, you know, an incredible piece. But really,
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  - you know, to pair it up with being
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  - able to give students, like, what a realistic,
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  - scenario would be to assess a patient, ask
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  - questions in the right manner, to help make
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  - decisions in a quick manner as well. You
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  - know, and I... Some of that pairs so
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  - well with so much of the classroom and
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  - educational needs that we have. So... But we're
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  - we're we're one class in getting this down,
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  - so I will say, you know, they were
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  - an incredible class. I've met a lot of
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  - them at the graduation that we recently had.
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  - So passionate and so, you know, willing and
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  - able to serve and have been wonderful. You
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  - know? So we know that the way the
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  - class was structured here, you know, is the
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  - model to do. And, you know, Jacob, we
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  - will, you know, be sure to come back
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  - to you after multiple more classes so that
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  - we can continue to show, you know, why
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  - the success. But I just can't can't thank
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  - all the partners,
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  - you know, enough, the WonderSeed Foundation who put
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  - together this technology. And then, of course, our
• 9:15
  - partners are are enabling us to do this.
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  - There's, you know, nothing better than partnership to
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  - make, you know, meaningful impact. And, you know,
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  - we certainly believe it's, you know, the next
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  - phase of how we can do job training
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  - together.
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  - Absolutely. And, Dan, as you know, and you
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  - alluded to at the the start of this
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  - conversation,
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  - health systems all over the country,
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  - they continue to struggle to build and retain
• 9:36
  - an EMS workforce. So so the the context
• 9:39
  - of what we're talking about today in terms
• 9:41
  - of the problems you're looking to solve, they're
• 9:44
  - nothing new,
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  - and they face the entire industry. And so
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  - I wonder, is this simulator,
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  - is this something that could scale beyond Freedom
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  - House, and what would another health system need
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  - to know,
• 9:56
  - from what you all have learned and scaled
• 9:58
  - in order to replicate things like this?
• 10:01
  - Yeah. Absolutely, Jacob. So number one thing, reach
• 10:03
  - out to us anytime. You can reach us
• 10:05
  - through through Jacob, of course, and the team.
• 10:07
  - You know, we are always happy to share
• 10:09
  - what's worked, what hasn't worked, how things can
• 10:12
  - be done, you know, differently no matter if
• 10:13
  - it's a simulator or how we build, you
• 10:15
  - know, pipelines and fund these programs, you know,
• 10:17
  - in particular. So, you know, I think for
• 10:19
  - us, and we know there's quite a bit
• 10:21
  - of investment across the country into different ways
• 10:23
  - to train, you know, and this is one
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  - part of the larger puzzle for us. So
• 10:28
  - we've learned that if we can make an
• 10:30
  - investment, we can try something and see if
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  - it works like this simulator clearly has in
• 10:34
  - these early days, can we pair it with
• 10:36
  - how we do workforce development overall? You know,
• 10:38
  - we just got the... Our our EMS classes,
• 10:41
  - our EMT class, is a registered apprenticeship with
• 10:43
  - the state of Pennsylvania. We're so grateful for
• 10:46
  - secretary Walker and her team from labor and
• 10:48
  - industry here in Pennsylvania who've encouraged new apprenticeship
• 10:51
  - programs in new sectors,
• 10:53
  - allied health programs that we have, and plenty
• 10:55
  - of other areas as we talked about on
• 10:57
  - a past episode with you. I think that
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  - has been the basis for how can we
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  - replicate these models and do them everywhere and
• 11:03
  - get the right partners involved. It certainly is
• 11:05
  - not just us. It'll be employers, EMS agencies,
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  - others, you know, to bring this in a
• 11:11
  - way that can be replicated across the country
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  - and use technologies like we have here. We
• 11:15
  - wouldn't even be in this place to innovate
• 11:17
  - in that way with this simulator unless we
• 11:20
  - had done some of the groundwork to make
• 11:21
  - sure that a training program could work, that
• 11:24
  - we could fund it appropriately, and we could
• 11:26
  - show up, you know, for the needs of
• 11:27
  - the community, which in the end is the
• 11:29
  - number one goal for us to make sure
• 11:31
  - that we're supporting individuals who wanna serve our
• 11:33
  - communities, our members, you know, make people healthier
• 11:36
  - and and, you know, do so, you know,
• 11:38
  - in a way that is life changing. So
• 11:39
  - we've we've loved it very much and, you
• 11:41
  - know, we'd be happy to talk with anybody
• 11:43
  - anytime about innovative solutions. We're all in this
• 11:45
  - together.
• 11:46
  - Wonderful. Well, appreciate that offer, Dan, and I
• 11:49
  - hope,
• 11:50
  - some of our listeners will reach out,
• 11:52
  - and can't thank you enough for for taking
• 11:54
  - the time to chat with us about this
• 11:56
  - and and offering your insights to our listeners.
• 11:58
  - We really appreciate you doing so. Thank you,
• 12:00
  - my friend. We appreciate you illuminating all this
• 12:02
  - as well. Thanks so much. Absolutely. And to
• 12:04
  - our listeners, if you'd like to listen to
• 12:05
  - more podcasts from Becker's, you can visit beckershospitalreview.com.