ST. CHARLES COUNTY—Paramedics with St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) and three local senior living communities are teaming up for unique, scenario-based training on improving diagnostic accuracy for geriatric fall patients. 

What You Need To Know

  • 400 paramedics and firefighters are planned to take part in the MEMAW Brigade training throughout the next several weeks and each session includes various challenging patient care stations

  • Staff and residents of Twin Oaks at Heritage Pointe in Wentzville, Clarendale Senior Living in St. Peters and New Perspective Senior Living in Weldon Springs, will volunteer as “patients” in the collaborated assessment

  • This improvement project uses a new patient assessment tool, “M.E.M.A.W.,” developed by Dr. Maia Dorsett in Rochester, New York

  • MEMAW helps paramedics improve specificity for posterior stroke and sepsis in fall calls, one of the most frequent dispatch concerns

A group of grandparents, affectionately nicknamed “the MEMAW Brigade,” are providing the training for SCCAD. This improvement project uses a new patient assessment tool, “M.E.M.A.W.,” developed by Dr. Maia Dorsett in Rochester, New York. MEMAW helps paramedics improve specificity for posterior stroke and sepsis in fall calls, one of the most frequent dispatch concerns.

“Diagnostic accuracy in prehospital care is a critical factor in determining patient outcomes, especially for elderly patients who often present with atypical symptoms. First responders must make rapid, high-stakes decisions based on limited information – scenario-based training with patient volunteers in a realistic environment can help drive that informed decision-making,” said SCCAD Captain Jackie Kloecker, who is leading the series of exercises.

Staff and residents of Twin Oaks at Heritage Pointe in Wentzville, Clarendale Senior Living in St. Peters and New Perspective Senior Living in Weldon Springs, will volunteer as “patients” in the collaborated assessment. Those assessments are staged within the senior living communities’ model apartments that are frequently used for prospective resident tours.

“The MEMAW Brigade training is a unique opportunity to enhance an already strong relationship with our first responder community,” said Kelly Gano, Executive Director of New Perspective Weldon Spring. “Our residents are grateful to be part of something that will improve patient outcomes in St. Charles County, and it provides our team valuable insight into how we can effectively collaborate with these responders in actual patient care scenarios.”

400 paramedics and firefighters are planned to take part in the MEMAW Brigade training throughout the next several weeks and each session includes various challenging patient care stations.

SCCAD strives to provide their paramedics with scenario-based training. In 2024, they went through immersive training exercises of an active shooter scenario at the former Francis Howell High School. Also, they took part in innovative Trauma Lanes training including a simulated ambulance rollover crash.