Bandy was present at the February STORK training, but it isn’t his first time completing the course. He said it’s vital to keep those skills sharp. Lewis said STORK gives health care providers the opportunity to practice skills they may not use daily. The class is made up of paramedics, flight medics, and nurses, many of whom have never had to deliver a baby.
Before the simulation, students attend a lecture to learn how to stabilize a patient, stop a hemorrhage and intubate an infant — emergency procedures that could mean life or death.
In the hospital room, they pay special attention to Victoria and check her and her baby’s vitals on a large screen. Victoria is responsive and offers feedback to her providers while they work. She can be affirming and grateful that they’ve gotten the baby out, or can be difficult, yelling out “don’t touch me!” She sometimes goes into shock, and it’s a scramble to then bring her back, but participants can practice as many times as they want.
“She can simulate things like seizures, postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, abnormal presentation of the baby,” Lewis said. “She does it all.”
Students practice multiple best- and worst-case scenarios, offer fluids and medicine and support Victoria through labor. Everyone keeps a watchful eye to help her safely deliver her baby.
“You can actually get your hands on it and catch a baby and do it multiple times because that repetition kind of helps educate people, helps you get that just muscle memory of what to do,” Lewis said.
The STORK program was made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting,WBHM in Alabama, WWNOand WRKF in Louisiana and NPR. Support for reproductive health coverage comes from The Commonwealth Fund.