Eastern Florida State College, Health First Host Fifth Annual EMS Skills Fair Featuring Three-Day Training Event
By Space Coast Daily // August 25, 2026
The event brought together 411 participants from 13 agencies
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Eastern Florida State College recently welcomed emergency medical professionals to its Melbourne Campus to participate in the 5th Annual Regional EMS Skills Fair, a three-day training event designed to strengthen lifesaving skills, reinforce best practices, and foster collaboration among first responders throughout the region.
Held August 12-14, 2026, at EFSC’s Public Safety Institute in the Emergency Medical Services training facilities, the event brought together 411 participants from 13 agencies, representing municipal fire rescue departments, emergency medical services providers, healthcare organizations, and public safety partners across Brevard County.
The annual training was led by Dr. Larissa Dudley, Medical Director for Eastern Florida State College’s EMS program and Medical Director for multiple EMS agencies throughout the region, with support from more than 30 EFSC instructors and faculty members and healthcare professionals contributing their expertise to support the event.
Dudley is also the EMS Medical Director for Health First’s First Flight, and through her program EMS Medical Direction LLC, she extends her knowledge and experience to several Brevard municipalities—ensuring responders countywide train to the same high standards.
Participants rotated through hands-on training stations focused on critical emergency response skills.
Basic Life Support (BLS) sessions covered hemorrhage control, tourniquet use, pit crew CPR, airway management, and pelvic stabilization.
Advanced Life Support (ALS) training included pediatric needle cricothyrotomy, rapid sequence intubation, video laryngoscopy, intraosseous access, needle decompression, and adult surgical airway procedures.
A combined obstetric emergency station provided additional multidisciplinary training.
This year’s EMS Skills Fair featured advanced and basic life support stations and a specialized obstetric emergency station.
Paramedics, EMTs, and flight crews rotated through immersive scenarios designed to replicate the rare, highest-risk emergencies they may encounter.
Rather than relying on a single trainer, Dudley recruited instructors from within the agencies themselves.
Experienced personnel from fire and EMS departments led colleagues from other municipalities, reinforcing consistency and strengthening cross-agency bonds.
“Competence, confidence, and efficiency are essential when a patient’s life is on the line,” said Dr. Dudley. “By bringing agencies together for shared, hands-on education, we’re not only ensuring that EMS professionals receive consistent, evidence-based training, but we’re also strengthening the relationships between the people and organizations who work together every day to serve our community.”
The participating agencies included Cape Canaveral Fire Department, Cocoa Fire Department, Cocoa Beach Fire Department, Health First’s First Flight Helicopters, Malabar Fire Department, Melbourne Fire Department, Palm Bay Fire Rescue, Rockledge Fire Department, Satellite Beach Fire Department, Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority Fire Rescue, Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center Emergency Department, Operator Solutions, Hibiscus OB GYN, Bound Tree Medical, and Eastern Florida State College.
“On behalf of Eastern Florida State College, I want to thank Dr. Dudley, Health First, our EMS faculty and staff, and all of the participating agencies for making this year’s Skills Fair such a tremendous success,” said EFSC President Dr. Jim Richey.
“Bringing together hundreds of EMS professionals for advanced training reflects a shared commitment to excellence in patient care and public safety. We are proud to support opportunities that strengthen our partnership with Health First as we work together to improve our region’s emergency response capabilities and help save lives.”
“None of us knows exactly when our preparation will be tested. Excellence is built by doing the work before the moment arrives—by practicing, listening, and learning from each other. And by knowing we don’t have to navigate difficult moments alone. It takes strong partnerships across our community. It takes people willing to share their knowledge, practice together, and hold one another to a high standard. And it takes the humility to recognize that, no matter how experienced we become, there is always an opportunity to learn and grow,” said Health First President and CEO Terry Forde.
