Skip to main content
Around Kirkwood

CODE *1 Conference at Kirkwood, March 12-13

By February 24, 2010January 14th, 2019No Comments

Event Blends Training, Knowledge and Networking in Cedar Rapids Venue

It is sometimes difficult for emergency personnel to imagine “down-time.” With pagers, cell phones and portable radios always at the ready our firefighters, paramedics and EMT personnel have learned to live with a schedule that could change at a moment’s notice.

That reality is one of the key reasons that staff at Kirkwood Community College are inviting emergency medical staff from around the region to “stand down with a purpose” in mid-March. That is when Kirkwood will host the annual CODE *1 Conference, giving focus to new trends and techniques in emergency response and management. It is also a chance to “kick back with people who understand the world” of EMTs, according to Healthcare Simulation Center Director Mike McLaughlin.

“We get lots of appreciative and grateful comments back from our participants every year. Besides getting the CEU credits that keep their careers on track, it is a healthy thing to talk with other professionals from around the state and hear best practices from recognized experts and leaders,” McLaughlin observed.

The annual CODE *1 Conference will be held at the Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education, Kirkwood BLVD and 76th Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. Events are set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Keynote speaker for the 2010 CODE *1 Conference is Stephen M. Murphy, a division chief and paramedic from suburban Seattle, Wash. Murphy has more than 25 years of experience in both rural and urban public safety settings. He has been a flight paramedic in Colorado, and EMS supervisor and manager for a private ambulance service, and a training chief for a Washington State fire department. Murphy’s engaging style has made him a popular speaker at state, national and international emergency training conferences.

Other speakers include area and regional nursing and EMT professionals, state emergency response leaders, and firefighter/first responder training specialists. A popular presenter from the 2009 conference returns, as Tammy Fleshner of the Parkersburg Ambulance Service will recount the harrowing events of May 2008 when an F-5 tornado hit her town. The storm is listed as one of the worst weather disasters in Iowa history.

Registration for Kirkwood’s CODE *1 Conference is $155 for both March 12 and 13. Single-day registrations are available for $85 per day, with lunch included each day. Participants may register by phone: (319) 398-1022, or via the Kirkwood Web site:

www.kirkwood.edu/ce

 

Special hotel rates of $79.99 per day are available at the AmericInn Lodge and Suites, 8910 Sixth Street SW in Cedar Rapids. Rates are available through March 1 by calling (319) 632-1800 and mentioning the conference.