Critical Care Transport Education
Transport Training: Transporting a Patient on Impella® Support
The video describes how the left- and right-sided heart pumps work and the insertion locations for each. It also provides an overview of the components of each, pointing out similarities and distinguishing features.
Impella Transport Considerations
Adam Gottula, MD, a critical care fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, highlights key information for physicians involved in transporting critically ill patients with mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices such as Impella.
Meet Abiomed's Critical Care Transport Trainers
Caleb Merrell, CFRN, BSN, LP
Caleb Merrell joined Abiomed in 2021 as a clinical educator, supporting the Central Texas region. Throughout this time, he has provided Impella-based education to ICU, OR, cath lab and transport staff throughout Texas as well as case support utilizing Impella products. He has transitioned into a critical care transport trainer role, helping to coordinate and provide Impella-specific training for transport programs throughout the country. Prior to joining Abiomed, Caleb served six years in the United States Marine Corps Infantry where he learned basic medical skills and saw first-hand the impact they made, inspiring him to obtain his EMT and eventually his RN after being honorably discharged from the military.
Shane Turner, RN, NRP, CFRN, FP-C, CMTE
Shane Turner joined Abiomed as a critical care transport trainer. Shane became a Flight Paramedic with Erlanger LIFE FORCE based in Chattanooga, TN. During his six-year tenure with LIFE FORCE, he was involved in multiple education projects and held positions of flight paramedic, instructor, clinical base lead and clinical practice coordinator. In this role, he served on a team responsible for new hire and continuing education for more than 500 flight clinicians. As part of the newly created Impella Transport Training Team, Shane will be helping with program development, adding more classes to allow for both virtual and in-person opportunities, and assisting in fine-tuning the curriculum for all transport training programs.
Jena Billig, BSN, RN, CCRN, CFRN
Jena Billig joined Abiomed in 2023 as a part-time critical care transport trainer assisting to cover air and ground Impella transport trainings throughout the United States. Her goal is to bring education tailored specifically to air and ground crews so that they further hone not just their competence but their confidence in the Impella platform outside of the four hospital walls. Prior to joining Abiomed, Jena started her career in the Heart and Vascular Critical Care Unit at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where she developed her love of mechanical circulatory support. She assisted with ECMO cannulations and cared for ECMO, Impella, LVAD, balloon pump, transplant and total artificial heart patients daily.
Diana Draehn, RN, BSN, CFRN, LP
Diana Draehn joined Abiomed as a part-time clinical educator for the North Texas region in November 2018. Early in her career, she helped the local franchise by providing on-site case support and training for hospital accounts while maintaining a full-time role as a flight nurse/paramedic. Diana recognized a lack of training resources for transport clinicians who play an integral role in caring for Impella-supported patients needing transfer between hospitals. In 2022, Diana began helping to develop a transport-specific training program that focused on the unique challenges of caring for this patient population in the transport environment. Diana successfully trained over 800 transport clinicians during the first year of this program, and as a result, her team has grown from a team of one to a team of four that has provided training across the United States for thousands of transport clinicians. The recognized need for this specialized education has the team diligently working to develop more training options and opportunities to continue to support Abiomed’s “Patients First” mission.
Transport Training Request
IMP-4757