Advanced Medical Transport: January 29 & February 3, 2009

During two separate trips to Advanced Medical Transport, OLLI members were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the non-profit ambulance service. Sharon Kennedy, AMT's Director of Community Relations, led our tours, which included stops in the fleet garage, training rooms, and communications center.

AMT's corporate headquarters is located in a 30,000 square-foot facility at 1718 N. Sterling Avenue, Peoria, Illinois. The organization operates the largest ambulance fleet in Central Illinois, with 25 advanced life support ambulances and two specially equipped critical care/neonatal units.

According to Ms. Kennedy, the ambulances log approximately 750,000 miles annually. AMT purchases approximately four new ambulances each year and often donates the old ambulances to area rescue squads.

The communications center, which is equipped with a computer-aided dispatch system, receives and dispatches ambulance calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The dispatch system automatically locates the paramadic unit nearest to the scene, which results in the closest unit being dispatched within seconds of receiving a call.

Ms. Kennedy said AMT's response times to emergency scenes consistently exceed national standards for a High Performance EMS System. In urban emergencies,
AMT ambulances arrive in 5 minutes most of the time, and in less than 9 minutes at least 90% of the time.

OLLI would like to thank AMT and Ms. Kennedy for providing two highly informative tours of their facility.

For more information about Advanced Medical Transport, please visit www.advancedmedicaltransport.org.

University of Illinois College of Medicine: January 28, 2009

As part of the learning trip to the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP), OLLI members had a rare opportunity to see a demonstration of a human patient simulator.

Located in UICOMP's Donald E. Rager, M.D. Clinical Skills Laboratory, the simulator suite houses an entire family of simulators -- adult, pediatric, and infant. The computerized simulators blink, speak, breathe, and mimic complex human physiological changes in tens of thousands of combinations.

The simulators respond automatically to medical interventions and record a data log of all events. UICOMP Advancement Coordinator Jim Burwitz, who led OLLI members on the tour, said the feedback is essential for a doctor's learning experience. After the training session, doctors can watch their performance with video playback and vitals on-screen in real time.

Mr. Burwitz also took OLLI members to the UICOMP library, which provides a wealth of medical information for doctors and the public.

OLLI thanks Mr. Burwitz and his colleagues at UICOMP for a wonderful learning experience.

For more information about the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, visit www.uicomp.uic.edu.

MUIR Graphics: Thursday, January 22, 2009

On a sunny day in late January 2009, OLLI members were given an in-depth look at Muir Omni Graphics, an industrial graphics manufacturer located just two blocks away from Bradley University, at 908 W. Main Street, Peoria, Illinois.

Ms. April Lemkemann led the tour, which began with a presentation of Muir's history and products. The company, founded in 1963, specializes in weather-able silkscreen printed markings such as graphic overlays, corporate and fleet markings, safety and instructional markings, and damage prevention products. Its customers include American Family Insurance, Verizon, and Caterpillar Inc.

Ms. Lemkemann then led our group through the entire production process, starting with a product order, following it through the production shop, and finally to quality control and distribution.

According to Ms. Lemkemann, Muir Omni is an an ISO 9001:2000 certified facility that practices Six Sigma methodology to ensure production efficiency. The company also has achieved an ISO 14001 certification in environmental management standards, which represents its efforts to minimize its impact on the environment (i.e., paperless communication and "green" production materials).

A big thanks goes to Ms. Lemkemann and her colleague Tobbias Day, who led a wonderful tour for our members.

For more information about Muir Omni Graphics, please visit www.muirgraphics.com.

WMBD-TV: January 20 & 27, 2009

OLLI took two separate trips to the WMBD-TV studios in January, 2009. The double booking was necessary in order to accommodate the nearly 40 members who wanted to attend.

We were all treated to a wonderful tour, but members on the first trip were able to experience something special -- live coverage of the inauguration ceremony of our 44th President Barack Obama.

Tim Beisel, Operations/Marketing Director for WMBD-TV, started each tour by explaining the commercial production process. He said producers often record several hours of footage at the advertiser's location, then spend up to a week in the editing suite. The end result is a 30-second commercial with music and graphics.

We also walked through the control room, where producers and directors receive network satellite feeds, create the newscast graphics (stock reports, etc.) and manage the schedule of each newscast. When news breaks, these staffers are responsible for determining what stories should be cut from the existing script, then make sure the information is placed into the anchors' teleprompters.

Most of our time was spent in the actual studio where WMBD broadcasts its morning, noon, and evening newscasts. Meterologist Marcus Bailey demonstrated the weather portion of the broadcast, which involves a "green screen" and computer graphics.

Viewers at home see Marcus standing in front of an enlarged radar, but in reality, he is standing in front of a wall painted green, and producers place the radar behind him electronically. He uses monitors (hidden in the walls just outside of the green screen) to help him see what is being broadcast, and is then able to point to proper parts of the radar or map.

While we were in the studio, we were also able to experience the anchor's viewpoint of a newscast -- complete with the hot studio lighting, in-desk monitors, and script teleprompters.

OLLI at Bradley University would like to thank Tim Beisel for a job well done!

To view WMBD-TV's website, visit http://www.ciproud.com/.