ABILENE, Texas) – What started out as four television monitors on top of a vehicle dashboard is now the first complete ambulance simulator in North America.

Texas State Technical College’s Emergency Medical Services program hosted area first responders at the unveiling of the simulator, a multinational project between the college, Echo Healthcare, and SimLeader, a Canada-based company that develops safe training environments that allow teams to prepare for the unpredictable.

Robert-Francois Demers, executive director of SimLeader, said the ambulance unveiling capped a 10-year dream for him.

“We have finally been able to give students the technology to train with what is not just a tabletop screen,” Demers said of designing the technology inside the converted Ford F-350 ambulance. “TSTC is the real thing when it comes to using technology, and this has been my dream to design.”

Nearly 10 years ago, Demers had the idea to convert a vehicle into a simulator. From his original design, Demers and his team began developing the concept along with Echo Healthcare, a Florida-based company that specializes in immersive spaces and educational software.

“This is the first of its kind in North America. The only other simulator like this is in Dubai,” Demers said. “People would say to me that this was not possible. They would say you cannot have the screens on the ambulance. When I was planning this 10 years ago, the technology was not there. Today, we are showing that the impossible is possible.”

According to onetonline.org, the need for paramedics in Texas was expected to grow 19%between 2020 and 2030. The annual average salary for paramedics in Texas is $48,380.

In its Emergency Medical Services program, TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Paramedic, as well as certificates of completion in Emergency Medical Services -EMT, Emergency Medical Services – Advanced EMT AEMT and Emergency Medical Services -Paramedic. The program is available at the Abilene, Brownwood and Harlingen campuses.