Prehospital/EMS/Event Medicine

male  Dr. LeBlanc

Dustin LeBlanc, M.D.
Associate Chief Medical Officer, ATC and Emergency Management
Director, Prehospital Medicine
Medical Director, Emergency Preparedness
Medical Director, Special Event Medicine

Welcome to the Prehospital Division of Emergency Medicine. EMS and prehospital care are important aspects of our Department, and we are fortunate to have many opportunities to develop local and regional prehospital care, including 911-response, inter-facility transfers, mass gathering and specialty care, and disaster preparedness. Our outstanding faculty has taken advantage of the unique challenges of Charleston and the surrounding areas to create innovative prehospital programs.

Many of our faculty members are actively involved in EMS in a variety of capacities. We are involved in medical direction for several large fire departments and EMS agencies in the area. We serve on state EMS committees and are working on simulation training for local EMS agencies.

We are also actively involved in other aspects of prehospital care, including disaster planning and training, event medicine such as the Cooper River Bridge Run, wilderness medicine, tactical medicine, and maritime medicine.

Charleston County covers approximately 1100 square miles with a population of roughly 330,000. Charleston County EMS (CCEMS) is the primary 911-response provider and responds to over 50,000 calls each year.  They are the primary transport agency that brings patients in to MUSC.  It is a county-based “advanced life support” (ALS) service, which has received numerous state and national awards. Multiple fire departments also provide first responder assistance on more critical calls. Most of these services operate at the “basic life support” level, though a few fire departments operate at the ALS level.

MUSC has its own ambulance service called Meducare, which occasionally provides mutual aid for CCEMS, as well as providing inter-facility transfer and critical care capabilities. Meducare also has a helicopter ambulance to bring seriously ill and injured patients from scenes and other hospitals around the state to MUSC for more advanced care.

Our residents will have opportunities to learn and participate in local EMS support as well as disaster preparedness training and drills.

Residents work with these agencies throughout their residency, with a focus on understanding how these agencies work (first year) and how physicians are involved in EMS (second and third years). This is accomplished through ride-alongs with CCEMS, Meducare Air, and the Charleston Fire Department once each month they are in the ED. Second- and third-year residents are assigned to one agency and its medical director to meet specific objectives on months they are in the ED, focusing on QI, education, and protocol development, among other things. Residents additionally may opt to join our Metro Marine unit, tactical teams, event medicine teams or other services to gain a greater understanding of prehospital care. Our residents will also have opportunities to learn and participate in disaster preparedness training and drills.

Our residents participate in longitudinal EMS shifts, including Flight Medicine, EMS/paramedic shifts, and Fire department shifts. These allow residents to get field training and be prepared and knowledgeable about the prehospital scope of practice before arriving to the emergency department for care.

As a top tourist destination, the greater Charleston area is host to a number of events and mass gatherings. We provide medical services to a wide range of events around the Lowcountry, including professional and amateur sporting events, road races, cycling events, and festivals. For the past several years, the Division has provided expert medical support to thousands of athletes participating in the world famous Cooper River Bridge Run. There is also opportunity to participate in large scale upcoming events. We covered the 2019 LPGA Championship with additional golf and other sporting events planned in the near future.