Education

Gunnison Valley Health System is committed to excellence in both employee and public education. We offer a variety of classes for the current or aspiring HealthCare Provider as well as the general public. We support the advancement of individual skills in the arena of emergency service and community response.

Due to our remote location, empowering our community members to respond effectively to control a hemorrhage as well as provide hands only CPR will save a life and possible lives of our community members. Learn to save lives and become certified in Stop the Bleed and Hands only CPR.

Please note: Stop the Bleed classes have been postponed until 2021.

Courses We Offer

Gunnison Valley Health provides a range of educational courses. All of our resuscitation courses follow the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines and our instructors are AHA certified. See course descriptions below and follow the link to our course registration page.

• Heartsaver CPR - Instructor-led training and blended learning courses available
• Heartsaver First Aid - nstructor-led training and blended learning courses available
• HeartCode Basic Life Support (BLS) - Blended learning courses
• ACLS Certification / Recertification - Blended learning courses for non GVH employees only
• PALS Certification / Recertification - Blended learning courses for non GVH employees only
• S.T.A.B.L.E (non AHA course)

Heartsaver Courses:

Heartsaver courses are intended for anyone with little or no medical training who needs a course completion card for job, regulatory (e.g. OSHA), or other requirements. These courses can also be taken by anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency in any setting. General public who have successfully completed this course include guides, teachers, daycare providers and those who do not work in a clinical patient care role. AHA’s Heartsaver First Aid course and Heartsaver CPR AED course will provide students the knowledge and skills that may help save a life.

AHA’s Heartsaver CPR AED. Although much is being done to prevent death from heart problems, cardiac arrest is still one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The skills learned in this course will help students recognize cardiac arrest, get emergency care on the way quickly, and help the student until more advanced care arrives to take over.

AHA’s Heartsaver First Aid This course provides the basics of first aid for most common life-threatening emergencies, covering how to recognize them, how to call for help, and how to perform lifesaving skills.

AHA’s Heartsaver combined First Aid CPR AED. This course combines all of the information covered in Heartsaver CPR AED and Heartsaver First Aid into one online course. The skills check-off for this course covers both disciplines.

Gunnison Valley Health offers two Heartsaver Course options to meet the needs of students: Instructor-led training and blended learning. Both formats include the same learning objectives and result in the same course completion card. Courses will typically be held at Gunnison Valley Health. If your business has a large class, please contact Caitlin (cpound@gvh-colorado.org) in regards to AHA instructors coming to your company’s location.

1. Instructor-led training: This course is conducted in a classroom setting and features group interaction and hands-on coaching and feedback from an AHA Instructor.

2. Blended learning: This course includes an online portion and a hands-on portion. The online portion can be completed at work, at home, or wherever you have internet access. Upon successful completion of the online portion, students will attend hands-on skills practice and testing session conducted in-person with an AHA Instructor.

HeartCode Basic Life Support (BLS):

This course is intended for healthcare professionals and other personnel who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings.

AHA’s BLS Course provides the foundation for saving lives after cardiac arrest. Updated to reflect new science as it emerges, this course teaches the concepts of high-quality CPR, improvement of chest compression fraction and high-performing team dynamics.

Gunnison Valley Health offers this course as a blended learning course. This course includes an online portion and a hands-on portion. The online portion can be completed at work, at home, or wherever you have internet access. Upon successful completion of the online portion, students will attend hands-on skills practice and testing session conducted in-person with an AHA Instructor.

AHA Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Blended Learning:

ACLS Blended Learning is an advanced, self-directed, comprehensive eLearning program that uses eSimulation technology to allow students to assess and treat patients in virtual healthcare settings. This course is designed for healthcare providers who need ACLS for their clinical duties. This group of professionals includes physicians, nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and others as required by their employer. Please note, this course is for non-GVH staff only.

AHA Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Blended Learning:

AHA's PALS Blended Learning is an advanced, self-directed, comprehensive eLearning program that uses eSimulation technology to allow students to assess and treat patients in virtual healthcare settings. This course is designed for healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children, including personnel in emergency response and emergency medicine, such as physicians, nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and others who need a PALS course completion card for their job or other requirements. The goal of PALS is to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill or injured children, resulting in improved outcomes.

S.T.A.B.L.E:

S.T.A.B.L.E is the most widely distributed and implemented neonatal education program to focus exclusively on the post-resuscitation/pre-transport stabilization care of sick infants. Based on a mnemonic to optimize learning, retention and recall of information, S.T.A.B.L.E stands for the six assessment and care modules in the program: Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood Pressure, Lab Work, and Emotional Support. A seventh module, Quality Improvement stresses communication and teamwork as well as the professional responsibility of evaluating care provided to sick infants, with the ultimate goal of improving future care. This course is offered by Children’s Hospital Colorado.