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Healing Through Helping: Sasha Edwards’ Story of Service and Simulation
For Sasha Edwards, simulation isn’t just a tool — it’s a way to prepare emergency responders for the hardest moments of their careers.
Now a Virtual Simulation Demo Specialist at Elevate Healthcare, Sasha’s path to this work started more than two decades ago in a hospital lab. She began as a phlebotomist but found herself drawn to the energy and intensity of emergency care. “I became a little bit of a trauma junkie,” she laughs.
That curiosity led her to EMS, where she worked full time for 12 years in rural Vermont. “We ran the gamut — everything from early 20s to patients in their 80s,” she says. Though pediatric calls were rare, they made a lasting impact.
In fact, pediatric simulation remains one of Sasha’s deepest passions. “PEDs is very near and dear to my heart,” she says. “When EMS providers hear they have a pediatric call, they kind of pucker up a little bit — we don’t deal with them a lot, and it’s often something serious.”
That emotional challenge, especially for providers who are also parents, is part of why Sasha believes in immersive, high-fidelity simulation. When Aria, Elevate Healthcare’s pediatric manikin, was introduced, Sasha was involved in its clinical evaluation. “I was like, yes — we need this,” she recalls. “We have needed something like this, that’s this high tech and high fidelity, to train our providers so they’re more comfortable.”
Sasha’s entry into healthcare was shaped by a personal loss. She and her ex-wife lost a child at 32 weeks, and the care they received at Brigham and Women’s Hospital stayed with her. “The team there was phenomenal,” she says. “Our own personal struggle… just led us to wanting to do more — and be there to help others who may be in the same position.”
Her experience in the field — and the evolution of simulation itself — shapes how she trains others today. “Simulation has evolved so much over the years. I remember doing ACLS with just a torso and an IV arm,” she says. “Now, we have full-size simulators that can respond to meds, treatments — it’s night and day.”
But even with the best technology, Sasha never forgets the mission. “There’s nothing predictable in the medical field. You might get toned out for one thing, and it ends up being something completely different,” she says. “Simulation helps providers get exposure. Even if they never see that exact situation in real life, they’ll have that moment in the back of their mind — I remember doing this in training.”
Today, Sasha brings her deep EMS background and simulation expertise to Elevate Healthcare, helping agencies and educators across the country adopt tools that better prepare responders. “I know these next generations of providers are going to be phenomenal,” she says. “They’ll have so many resources we didn’t have — and that even the people who came before me didn’t have — and wished we did.”