#33: Preparing For The Worst: Using VR To Train EMTs with Carla Bond, Founder/CEO at UpSkill VR
Slice of Healthcare Team
Apr 26, 2023
Episode Details:
What you’ll get out of this episode
Tim sat down with Carla Bond, Founder and CEO of UpSkill VR, to discuss the transformative role that virtual reality is playing in emergency training. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills 1 person every 2 minutes in the United States, and 70% of SCAs happen at home. But did you know your chance of survival increases 45% when CPR is administered promptly?! UpSkill VR uses VR to help students, EMTs, and communities prepare for emergency situations, rooted in Carla’s own personal experience. She shares her personal experience as an EMT, including a story where she arrived at a call and found an infant in need of help and the surprising realization that led Carla to founding the company. We dive into the details of her journey as an entrepreneur, her target market, ideal partners and end users, and what's next for UpSkill beyond CPR. Here are some of the key takeaways from the episode:
In this episode you’ll discover:
- Why Carla and UpSkill VR are on a mission to improve the ways emergency training is delivered using virtual reality, and how they create more immersive and realistic scenarios for trainees to practice in a safe environment.
- Carla’s personal story as an EMT and how that experience shaped the UpSkill mission.
- We discuss the potential of VR to help bridge the gap in healthcare education and training and improve patient outcomes.
- Carla talks about the importance of partnerships in growing UpSkill VR and how they are working with different organizations to expand their reach.
- We also chat about Carla's experience as a Navy veteran, the challenges she faced transitioning to civilian life, and the importance of having a support system within the veteran community.
- Finally, we explore the exciting developments on the horizon for UpSkill VR beyond CPR training, including the potential to expand into other areas such as public health and safety.
Final Frontier - 5 Questions in 50 Seconds
- Top Challenges: Exposure, VR hardware prices, content availability
- Top Opportunity: Personalization
- Tech Trend You’re Following: Realism – game art and design
- Top Media Recs:
- Healthcare / Tech Leader(s) You’re Following:
- Ryan Ribeira, CEO at SimX (LinkedIn →)
- Tim Cook, CEO at Apple
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