MEEKER | Emergency medical providers from across northwest Colorado gathered in Meeker last week for advanced trauma training focused on difficult airway management and pediatric emergencies, part of a regional effort to strengthen rural emergency care.
The two-day training was a collaboration between the Pioneers Medical Center Trauma Program, CareFlight’s educational outreach team and Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Trauma Services. The event featured hands-on simulation using the Colorado Mesa University Tech Simulation Bus, allowing providers to train in realistic hospital and ambulance scenarios.
“This training was a true collaboration,” said Anita Ruder, trauma program manager at Pioneers Medical Center. “It originated through planning between our trauma program, CareFlight, and Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Trauma Services, with the shared goal of strengthening trauma care across the entire northwest region.”
Ruder said the opportunity developed through coordination with CareFlight educator Elisabeth Abel. CareFlight, a consortium owned by multiple hospitals including Pioneers Medical Center, frequently supports rural education initiatives.
“Because of that relationship and a shared commitment to rural education, CareFlight is often quick to step forward when opportunities like this arise,” Ruder said. “They are an excellent resource for us.”
Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital, the closest Level II trauma center to Meeker, partnered with CareFlight to support trauma outreach and education throughout the region.
“As a Level II Trauma Center and a COPPER Pediatric Advanced designated hospital, we are committed to sharing expertise and supporting providers who care for both adult and pediatric patients,” said Vee Edstrom, injury prevention and trauma/EMS outreach coordinator at Intermountain Health St. Mary’s. “This training reflects our respect for rural partners and our shared responsibility to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care from the moment they enter the emergency system, which often starts with a 911 call.”
The training was offered free to participating providers, removing common barriers faced by rural clinicians, including cost, staffing limitations and long travel distances.
“Rural providers don’t always have easy access to advanced training,” Ruder said. “Bringing the simulation bus to Meeker allowed us to remove those barriers and train providers where they live and work.”
Courses focused on difficult airway management and pediatric trauma, two areas that present unique challenges in rural emergency medicine. The difficult airway course emphasized rapid decision-making in complex scenarios, while the pediatric trauma course addressed differences in physiology, medication dosing and team dynamics.
“These are high-risk, low-frequency events in rural medicine,” Ruder said. “Simulation allows teams to practice together, build confidence and refine communication in a realistic but safe environment.”
Joshua Martin, interim director of the ED/MedSurg units at Pioneers Medical Center, said training alongside local EMS and hospital staff is critical for maintaining consistency and continuity of care across disciplines.
“When nurses, physicians, EMS providers and flight crews train using the same approaches, it improves patient care during transfers and helps us function as a unified system rather than separate pockets of health care,” Martin said.
Martin said early airway management is one of the highest priorities in emergency situations, particularly during air transport.
“Adequate oxygenation is critical for major organs such as the brain and heart,” he said. “Understanding multiple methods of securing an airway allows us to provide the best possible opportunity for positive patient outcomes.”
Longer transport times common in rural Colorado require additional planning, Martin said, including ensuring airways can be safely maintained for the duration of transport.
Elisabeth Abel, a registered nurse with CareFlight Outreach Education, said the training reflected the realities of emergency care across western Colorado and eastern Utah, where distance and geography can delay access to definitive trauma services.
“Because our region is so widely dispersed, there can often be a delay to definitive medical and trauma care,” Abel said. “Regional facilities such as Pioneers Medical Center provide emergency care to critically injured patients until they can be transported to a center with higher-level services, such as St. Mary’s Trauma Services.”
CareFlight provides helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft and ground critical care transport throughout the region, responding to accident scenes and transporting patients between hospitals and clinics. Abel said the joint training allowed providers from different disciplines to better understand one another’s roles and challenges.
“This conference provided a unique opportunity for all of us to train together and understand — and perhaps mitigate — the challenges we face in our different environments,” she said.
Abel said CareFlight and St. Mary’s Trauma Services routinely provide education throughout the region at the request of EMS agencies and hospitals, with the goal of supporting early resuscitation and rapid transport.
“Because of the key role EMS and regional hospitals play in resuscitation, our focus is facilitating smooth, rapid care and transport to definitive services,” she said.
Training scenarios emphasized advanced airway management, pediatric and adult resuscitation, trauma assessment, team communication, rapid decision-making and patient stabilization prior to transfer. The CMU Tech Simulation Bus, made available through grant funding and coordinated by CareFlight, allowed hospital and ambulance simulations to run simultaneously.
Abel credited Colorado Mesa University Tech for supporting the training and said a multidisciplinary team of educators led the sessions, including physicians, flight paramedics, flight nurses and trauma services nurses.
“Instructors were able to bring their specific expertise into the simulations,” Abel said. “That included remote rescue airway scenarios, emergency surgical airways, and pediatric and infant resuscitation using specialized simulators.”
Participants included physicians, nurses, paramedics and EMTs from Meeker, Rifle, Rangely, Fruita, Grand Junction and Craig.
“That regional mix was intentional and one of the strengths of the event,” Ruder said.
The Meeker Fire Department hosted the training, providing space for hands-on scenarios.
“Their willingness to partner with us made this training possible locally,” Ruder said, noting ongoing collaboration with Fire Chief Pelloni and local EMS.
Edstrom said training together strengthens communication and trust between EMS agencies, rural hospitals and trauma centers.
“By learning together, EMS, rural hospitals and trauma centers develop shared expectations, which leads to clearer communication during real emergencies,” she said.
Ruder said strengthening emergency care across northwest Colorado is critical due to the region’s size and long transport times to higher-level trauma centers, which can be further impacted by weather.
“Strong local and regional preparedness makes a real difference for patients from the moment care begins,” she said.
Training together also improves patient outcomes once transfers occur, Edstrom said.
“When patients arrive at St. Mary’s, they are often better stabilized, allowing our teams to seamlessly build on the care already provided and focus on achieving the best possible outcome,” she said.
Martin emphasized CareFlight’s role in ensuring access to specialized care when it is not available locally.
“It’s one of those resources you hope you never need, but are incredibly grateful to have when the situation arises,” he said.
Pioneers Medical Center plans to continue hosting similar training opportunities as part of its long-term trauma program goals.
“This was never intended to be a one-time event,” Ruder said. “We are committed to continuing collaborative, simulation-based training for our providers and surrounding communities.”
As a Level IV trauma center, Pioneers’ role is to provide strong initial care, rapid stabilization and safe transfer when higher-level services are needed. Ruder said ongoing education and regional partnerships are essential as the hospital works toward expanding pediatric readiness, including plans to apply for a COPPER pediatric designation by mid-2026.
By bringing advanced training directly to rural providers, organizers said the collaboration helps ensure patients across northwest Colorado receive consistent, coordinated trauma care — from the initial 911 call through transfer to higher-level facilities when needed.
The CMU Tech mobile learning lab is parked outside the Meeker Fire Department as part of a regional difficult airway and pediatric trauma training that brought emergency medical providers together from across northwest Colorado. JARED HENDERSON PHOTO
A look inside the CMU Tech mobile learning lab shows emergency medical providers working through a simulated scenario using training equipment and a medical mannequin during a regional trauma course in Meeker. JARED HENDERSON PHOTO
UPDATED: Corrected Joshua Martin’s role at Pioneers Medical Center to interim director of the ED/MedSurg units, not the Careflight Director.