Saint Mary’s Physicians Help Prepare First Responders for Remote Emergencies

Wesley Kyle, MD, Bernie Meehan and Ryan Cole, MD stage a specialized training for first responders. 

The program featured Ryan Cole, MD, an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist at Saint Mary's Hospital. Dr. Cole is board certified in emergency medicine and serves as a consulting toxicologist for the Connecticut Poison Control Center. His expertise includes toxic exposures, venomous bites and stings, environmental emergencies and the use of antivenom. During the training, he provided first responders with an understanding of the progression of envenomation, assessing its severity, treatment considerations and the appropriate use of antivenom.
Joining Dr. Cole was Wes Kyle, MD, an emergency medicine physician and EMS Medical Director at Saint Mary's. Dr. Kyle has extensive experience in prehospital, tactical and military medicine, as well as educating Connecticut EMS providers and first responders. He serves as the physician for the Regional Waterbury SWAT team and is a former Infantry Battalion Surgeon with the Connecticut Army National Guard. His military service included deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, giving him extensive experience providing medical support in high-risk and austere environments.
Together, Dr. Cole and Dr. Kyle combined medical toxicology expertise with real-world experience in EMS, emergency medicine and remote environments. The program covered recognizing envenomation, appropriate field care, patient stabilization, antivenom considerations and the challenges of evacuating patients from remote locations for definitive medical treatment.