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Mobile University of Iowa program brings EMS training to rural Iowa counties with new grant

Half of the training will focus on maternal health care so first responders in maternal care deserts know how to treat pregnancy complications and deliveries

Emily Andersen

Sep. 13, 2025 5:30 am

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SIM-IA paramedic simulation technician Dawn Brus debriefs with Marion firefighters and paramedics about the medical scenario they received during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. Before the simulation began, Dawn gave the men basic information about what to expect when they “arrived” on scene. Dawn provided feedback after the scenario ended and highlighted what was done well. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
SIM-IA paramedic simulation technician Dawn Brus debriefs with Marion firefighters and paramedics about the medical scenario they received during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. Before the simulation began, Dawn gave the men basic information about what to expect when they “arrived” on scene. Dawn provided feedback after the scenario ended and highlighted what was done well. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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MARION — A mobile EMS training program run by the University of Iowa College of Nursing will be able to continue providing on-site simulation training in rural Iowa after the nonprofit Wellmark Foundation announced in August a $5.3 million investment, which will support the program for the next five years.

Marion Fire Department captain paramedic Zach Brunscheen watches as paramedic and firefighter Carter Bronemann checks over “Dylan” the dummy patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. During the medical scenario, 18-year-old “Dylan” presented with a seizure and a dislocated shoulder. Firefighters and EMTs worked through what their course of action would be to treat the dummy patient and what they would inform ambulance workers once they arrived on scene. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Marion Fire Department captain paramedic Zach Brunscheen watches as paramedic and firefighter Carter Bronemann checks over “Dylan” the dummy patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. During the medical scenario, 18-year-old “Dylan” presented with a seizure and a dislocated shoulder. Firefighters and EMTs worked through what their course of action would be to treat the dummy patient and what they would inform ambulance workers once they arrived on scene. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Simulation in Motion - Iowa, or SIM-IA, got started in 2022 with an $8 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The program brings simulation training opportunities to emergency responders around the state via a semitruck, which has a fake ER and ambulance built into the back.

Jacinda Bunch, the senior program adviser for SIM-IA and a clinical assistant professor for the UI College of Nursing, said that since the program started she has been looking for sustainable funding options that will carry the program forward from its initial grant. The Wellmark Foundation’s support was a relief, she said.

Firefighters work together to adjust “Dylan” the dummy patient into a comfortable position after being informed the patient had dislocated his shoulder during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-IA is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS trainings for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Firefighters work together to adjust “Dylan” the dummy patient into a comfortable position after being informed the patient had dislocated his shoulder during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-IA is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS trainings for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“We have been out talking to pretty much anybody who will listen about what we're doing, about the need to support rural health care providers, rural EMS, get them this type of simulation education, and someone told the Wellmark foundation about us,” Bunch said. “They saw the vision there and realized that this was a great opportunity for them to give back to the state, as well.”

While the SIM-IA program provides training across the state, the Wellmark Foundation’s investment will specifically be used to fund training in 86 rural counties. Each county will have two trainings per year funded by the foundation. Of those trainings, half will be focused on maternal health care.

Where in the county those trainings happen, and which agencies are able to participate, will likely differ from county to county, depending on the needs and availability of the EMS and fire departments, but Bunch said the program does its best to be available to as many agencies as possible.

SIM-IA paramedic simulation technician Dawn Brus works in the control room during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. In the control room, Brus is responsible for monitoring and changing vitals, providing patient information, voicing the dummy patient to tell firefighters and EMTs what the patient is feeling and monitor the scene to see how they are working to treat the patient. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
SIM-IA paramedic simulation technician Dawn Brus works in the control room during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. In the control room, Brus is responsible for monitoring and changing vitals, providing patient information, voicing the dummy patient to tell firefighters and EMTs what the patient is feeling and monitor the scene to see how they are working to treat the patient. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“There are hundreds of EMS agencies across the state, whether it's first responder volunteers versus paid services, transport versus non transport,” Bunch said. “So, our goal is to try to reach as many of them as we can, but we also understand the constraints of volunteer service, people doing this on their own time, so we know we're not going to be able to get them all.”

Laura Jackson, Wellmark's executive vice president of health improvement and chair of The Wellmark Foundation, said that providing training for first responders in areas where there aren’t many maternal health care providers nearby was one of the nonprofit’s priorities with this investment.

Marion FD captain in training Kean McBurney looks for a breathing tube to administer to his patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The mobile training unit plays out various medical scenarios that firefighters and EMTs may encounter on a call. SIM-IA paramedic simulation technicians voice the dummy and provide information about the scene and patient throughout the training. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Marion FD captain in training Kean McBurney looks for a breathing tube to administer to his patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The mobile training unit plays out various medical scenarios that firefighters and EMTs may encounter on a call. SIM-IA paramedic simulation technicians voice the dummy and provide information about the scene and patient throughout the training. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“We want to make sure if there's a maternal care desert, there's an opportunity for the folks that do critical obstetrics training, for them to actually learn how to handle a complicated pregnancy and a delivery, because if there’s nobody around, that can be a really scary thing for the first responders, and certainly not great outcomes for the mom,” Jackson said.

Jackson said she first heard about SIM-IA about a year ago when the Wellmark Foundation was discussing ways they could help reduce barriers to health care in Iowa and someone mentioned the program. Since then, the foundation has been talking with SIM-IA and the first responders the program has worked with to learn more about it.

Marion FD captain in training Kean McBurney, right, and Marion FD acting captain Ian Cruse work together to check over “Dylan” the dummy patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. During the medical scenario, an 18-year-old male presented with a seizure and a dislocated shoulder. Firefighters and EMTs worked through what their course of action would be to treat the dummy patient and what they would inform ambulance workers once they arrived on scene. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Marion FD captain in training Kean McBurney, right, and Marion FD acting captain Ian Cruse work together to check over “Dylan” the dummy patient during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. During the medical scenario, an 18-year-old male presented with a seizure and a dislocated shoulder. Firefighters and EMTs worked through what their course of action would be to treat the dummy patient and what they would inform ambulance workers once they arrived on scene. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Jackson said the Wellmark Foundation has been nothing but impressed, and was excited to be able to support the continuation of the program.

“Probably the most compelling feedback we received was from actual first responders who'd gone through the training, who literally said ‘We would never get this kind of training for a myriad of reasons. One, we couldn't travel to a SIM unit. We don't have the time to take off and we don’t have the staff to take off. And two, we would never have the money to bring SIM to us,’” Jackson said.

Marion FD captain paramedic Nick Thompson prepares a dose of fentanyl to be administered for shoulder dislocation pain during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-IA is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS trainings for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Marion FD captain paramedic Nick Thompson prepares a dose of fentanyl to be administered for shoulder dislocation pain during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-IA is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS trainings for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“We heard stories of, literally, that training saving lives, because they had never had the training, they had never experienced it, and once they did, they actually had those real examples present themselves.”

Bunch said she regularly hears stories about how SIM-IA training has been used in real-life scenarios, so much so that the program has had to restructure how it schedules trainings. Agencies that have experienced the training ask when SIM-IA can return.

The program still is looking for future funding opportunities to continue the services it is providing. Bunch said they also are exploring how they cold grow the program, including looking for a funding source for urban trainings, which are currently funded through a mix of money left over from the original grant, additional small grants that the program regularly applies for, and money donated from community businesses that sometimes sponsor the program for their cities’ EMS providers.

A firefighter starts an IV on “Dylan” the dummy patient after being informed the patient had a seizure and dislocated his shoulder during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-AI is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS training for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
A firefighter starts an IV on “Dylan” the dummy patient after being informed the patient had a seizure and dislocated his shoulder during a SIM-IA training session at the Marion Fire Station 1 in Marion on Tuesday. The SIM-AI is a University of Iowa program that provides EMS training for firefighters and EMTs. The program recently received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation that will fund their trainings in Iowa’s rural counties for the next five years. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Jackson said the Wellmark Foundation may choose to continue funding the program after this initial grant has been spent, but that they also want to work with SIM-IA to increase visibility of the program and encourage other funders to step up to support.

“We want to help them tell the story for the next five years about the difference this makes in communities and the outcomes for these folks that actually are saved. We would love to encourage them to highlight this so that other funders might step forward,” Jackson said. “It's not to say that we wouldn't consider (continuing to provide funding), but we would love to bring others along so that we never find them in a situation like we did, which was, we don't know where the next five years are going to come from.”

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com

Article Tags University of Iowa College of Nursing, Rural Iowa, Marion Fire Department
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