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CMH offers training for life support classes by Heather Murphy Public Relations It’s official; MUSC has its very own American Heart Association accredited Community Training Center. Located in Charleston Memorial Hospital on the second floor, the center harbors three classrooms and plenty of equipment to train medical and clinical staff, future instructors, and community members in basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS), and pediatric advanced life support (PALS). “It takes a very detailed application and an in-depth site visit from representatives of the American Heart Association to become a designated center,” said Carol McDougall, director of the new training center. “It’s not a simple process; it’s like a mini-joint commission survey.” MUSC previously contracted out for training center services, leaving MUSC at the mercy of the contracted center’s ability to appropriately staff and schedule classes. “Approximately $50,000 was leaving the hospital to pay the contracted center,” McDougall said. With the university increasing budget limitations, it made perfect sense for MUSC to establish its own center. “Our goal is to consistently meet the needs of the university, hospital, and clinic communities. We eventually would like to be seen as the premier provider for BLS, ACLS, and PALS programs,” McDougall said. The function of the new center is to not only provide new and renewal training to the medical community but also to provide the classes for anyone interested. “One of the most important things for instructors to know is that in order to teach at MUSC’s center, they have to be signed on with the MUSC Community Training Center,” said Molly White, instructor and administrative assistant for the center.  “All instructors are eligible to teach here, but the MUSC training center can not accept rosters or provide cards to instructors who are not affiliated with our center. They actually need to fill out a form ending affiliation with the old center and sign a new contract with MUSC.” Jeannie Eiserman, program manager of the center, schedules classes and instructors to teach BLS, ACLS, and PALS. “Dr. Fred Tecklenberg, director of pediatrics, is the medical advisor for PALS,” Eiserman said. “He’s our PALS course director and has done a lot to help us get started.” Eiserman mentioned that she and McDougall are discussing direction of the ACLS program with Larry Raney, M.D., director of emergency services, and are looking for more instructors for the ACLS program. Like any new program, the center still needs a few things. The center needs additional equipment in good condition, although the center is fully outfitted. “We’d like to have enough equipment to reach out to the community by traveling outside MUSC to teach classes,” Eiserman said. “Another positive impact of the new center is the student-instructor ratio,” White said. “We anticipate from eight  to 12 students per instructor in most classes, meaning there will be enough equipment for everyone to use and thus more hands-on experience.” For more information on the new center, instructing classes or registering for classes, contact White at whitemar@musc.edu or 953-8696.  Eiserman may be contacted at eisermaj@musc.edu or 953-8742. Visit the center’s Web site at http://www.musc.edu/CTC/. Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.