McHenry County College paramedic students learn compassion beyond the classroom

Imagine having pain or feeling sick and not being able to communicate verbally. This can be all too real for those living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Paramedic students at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake recently spent time at Sheltered Village in Woodstock, so they can be better prepared to help people who are disabled in a compassionate, supportive way that fosters a sense of security and trust and helps reduce anxiety during stressful moments.

Sean Lampi, 27, was among those students. Lampi also works as a part-time firefighter and emergency medical technician in Marengo and Fox Lake and has responded to calls to help this demographic. He also grew up with a mom who is a nurse and he accompanied her to similar care facilities.

Lampi said for those pursuing work as paramedics, the opportunity to spend time with those who are developmentally delayed is important. The experience at the 96-bed adult residential facility is especially beneficial for those who don’t otherwise interact with this group, he said.

Many residents are nonverbal, have a high pain tolerance and have difficulty communicating their pain levels. Some are afraid of strangers, and specifically strangers in uniform, he said.

People with developmental delays “don’t always know how to interact on a social level that would help us treat them or know what is going on,” he said. The keys to making them more comfortable are establishing “why you are there,” which is just to help, not to overwhelm them and respect that you’re often in their home, Lampi said.

“Talk to them like they are your family member, just as a normal person, speaking in basic terms, not using medical terms,” Lampi said. Family members and caretakers are helpful in explaining how a person typically communicates.

“It is important to focus on being able to communicate with them,” Lampi said. “We rely on those who see them every day and know what their norm is. If we are working with someone who typically communicates but now is unable to, that is a sign that there is something wrong.”

Lauren Schlendorf, administrator at Sheltered Village, said this is the first time it has partnered with MCC. She said, like Lampi, it is important that paramedics and EMT students be familiar with the facility and build a comfort level when responding to calls.

Because some are nonverbal, a caregiver, EMT, paramedic must learn to understand and respond to nonverbal cues, she said, something Lampi also has experienced in his work.

Jayna Verastique, assistant administrator at Sheltered Village, said the partnership also helps residents learn to be comfortable with strangers coming in, and understand “these are people in our community here to help you.”

“EMTs do a phenomenal job when they come to our facility,” Verastique said, stressing the importance of developing comfort levels on both sides. “If you have never been around this population, it takes you back.”

Verastique said residents have “a lot of different ability levels. Some are verbal; some are not. Just for our residents being able to express themselves might be difficult for the EMT to understand. It’s a matter of listening, whether verbal cues or picking up on how the resident is acting, if they are dealing with pain, you have to watch their facial expressions rather than rely on them telling you.”

This experience is an addition to clinical rotations paramedic certification students participate in. Other rotations include hospitals, fire departments and air medical services. Rotations provide “students hands-on experiences in a variety of high-pressure environments,” according to a MCC news release.

Scott Wessel is a paramedic program coordinator at MCC and a member of the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District who has also worked as a classroom aide with Woodstock School District 200's Life Skills program. He said he’s “witnessed how the developmentally disabled community requires a customized approach to patient care.”

The idea to partner with Sheltered Village was born from a discussion with MCC’s paramedic program instructional staff members concerned about the “importance of providing adequate training to our students to best serve this patient demographic.”

“Through their experience [at Sheltered Village], students are learning how to effectively communicate with these patients, customize their approach to assessment and develop patient care plans that are considerate of the patient’s existing medical needs,” Wessel said. Most importantly, this experience builds a level of compassion that cannot be taught in the classroom.”

The partnership with Sheltered Village will continue with MCC’s next student cohort in August, he said.

Lampi said he encountered about 50 residents during his rotation at the village and “had a really good experience. A lot of them were eager to talk to me, ask questions and shake my hand.”

One resident, about 75, had been at the facility since he was 20. Each time Lampi walked past him, “he would have a huge smile on his face and give me a high five.”

“The smallest things in life make that population happy. They have a natural innocence in life. They truly appreciate the simple things,” Lampi said. “It makes me think about how precious and special life can be. They appreciate human interaction, and what a wonderful world it would be if everybody was nice and compassionate.”