Touro University representatives and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department together at the press event introducing the Las Vegas Crisis Response Medical Training Program.

Touro University Nevada partners with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to teach life-saving critical care

Jul 13, 2022

Touro University Nevada (Touro), home to Nevada’s largest medical school, announces the Las Vegas Crisis Response Medical Training Program with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). The program offers comprehensive medical training and curriculum for Metro officers to help save lives in emergency crime situations in Las Vegas.  

Made possible by a $1 million dollar grant from the Engelstad Foundation, the program provides one-of-a-kind, simulated reality medical training for officers, teaching them to stop life-threatening bleeds often associated with accidents, lacerations, firearm wounds, and other incidents where law enforcement is first on the scene. The medical training program also provides local first responders with Individual First Aid Kits (IFAKs), comprehensive medical kits needed to perform life-saving measures in the field.

“This collaboration allows our officers to enhance their abilities to apply critical care during any situation,” said Christopher Darcy, Undersheriff, LVMPD. “The training and the Individual First Aid Kits that come with it have transformed the way our officers are taught to respond to a situation where medical care is required. Officers practice using the first aid kits on simulated human-casualty mannequins, which provide a hyper-realistic experience meant to induce stress. This means that in a real-world scenario, officers will be better prepared to render first aid to critically wounded subjects until medical personnel can arrive on scene.”

"Partnering with Metro is a perfect example of how a collaboration between a medical school and a law enforcement agency can help save lives,” said Shelley Berkley, CEO and Senior Provost, Touro University Western Division. “In the past, officers were not provided with this type of life-saving training. Thanks to the Engelstad Foundation, Touro and Metro are working together to ensure that our first responders can provide life-saving care when they arrive on scene. We believe this program may be one of the first-of-its-kind in the nation, and we hope that it serves as a model to other municipalities as we work together to make our communities safer.”

More than 1,200 Metro officers have already completed the training program, with 700 more officers expected to complete the training by September.

“Just as we strongly believe in the importance of hands-on training for our medical students through lab coursework and residency programs, we believe that law enforcement should receive hands-on medical training that allows them to provide on-the-spot critical care,” said Dr. Andrew Priest, Provost at Touro University Nevada. “This partnership supports Touro’s mission of providing quality healthcare and education programs in concert with the Judaic commitment to social justice, intellectual pursuit and service to humanity. And while our hope is to never come across a situation that requires such training, we want our community’s first responders to be equipped and ready to save as many lives as possible.”  

The first phase of the program includes training for all Metro commands, encompassing nearly 3,000 officers. The training program is administered at the new Joint Emergency Training Institute (JETI), a high-tech, reality-based training center for law enforcement in east Las Vegas.

The JETI is the permanent home to LVMPD’s Multi-Assault, Counter Terrorism Action Capabilities team (MACTAC). Through this program, Touro aims to provide training to all existing and incoming law enforcement personnel in the Valley, with training made available for additional agencies as well. The university is seeking additional private funds to expand the medical training program.

“This program means a lot to our officers, especially given the recent tragedies our country and our world have endured, including the October 1, 2017 incident in Las Vegas - an event that served in large part as the genesis for our new world-class training center,” said Capt. Reggie Rader of Metro’s Organizational Development Bureau. “Our officers are expanding their skills and knowledge in stopping bleeds from critical wounds, triage care, emergency care, and hospital transfers, to name a few. These skills can be the difference-maker in reducing deaths and improving outcomes both during daily medical emergencies where officers are first to the scene as well as situations involving violent crime.”