This is an 18-hour Wilderness First Aid course sponsored by the Climbing Section of the Chemeketan outdoor club at Silver Falls State Park October 12-13, 2013. The schedule runs from 8 am to 7 pm on Saturday and 8 am to 5 pm on Sunday. The course will cover first aid skills and decision-making using realistic emergency medical scenarios as might be encountered on a climbing, hiking or backpacking trip in the Cascades. This will be a fun, intense, hands-on course that includes simulated-terrifying outdoor scenarios in dark, cold, wet, chaotic conditions. (See pictures from last years course.)
Instructors and Coaches
- Mike Niemeyer, Wilderness Advanced-EMT (Bio)
- Dorothy Brown Kwaiser, Wilderness EMT (Saturday)
- Mark Olson, MD
- Mike Gabe, MD
- Terry Walstrom, FR
- Miranda Yarbrough WEMT (Sat Pm, Sunday)
Patients, role players and helpers
- Justin Clark, WFA
- Joanne DeMay, WFA (Saturday only)
- Theresa Conley, WFA
- Brian Kier WFA
- Eric Lindquist
- Alicia Niemeyer
- Mike Pennington
- Kris Ostrin
- Mary Liz Critchlow
- Dan Berry
- John Jamison
- Mary Frances Jackson
- Charlie Brown
- Heather Kier
- Jay Orand
- Mike Gurley
- Eric Jacobson
- Christopher Salaz
- Bill Stiller
- Liz Lamade
- Spencer Wintersteen
- Must be 16 years of age or older
- Must have the ability to lift 40 lbs
- Must have current CPR certification. (I'll be offering the American Heart Association, Adult-only CPR AED class Friday night October 4th from 7 - 9 pm for $20 at the Drakes Crossing Fire Station for anyone who needs it.)
- Course Text book Buck Tilton's "Backcountry First Aid" prior to class. See below for ordering information.
- Be familiar with the Mazama Rope Litter (We will cover this in detail in class)
- Provide your emergency contact information to Mike Niemeyer.
- Sign a class agreement and release form and bring the form with you to the first class.
- You will need a watch that displays seconds and a headlamp.
- Bring snacks and meals for both days (we won’t be feeding you). We will have a kitchen facility available with a sink, microwave, fridge, stove, etc.
- Bring a day pack or backpack that can get knocked around a bit – with supplies you’d typically bring on an outing. Bring an extra thrift-store quality shirt and pants/sweat pants – should you volunteer to be a patient in a scenario. A small foam pad is optional - something for you to sit or kneel on when you are outside assisting a patient.
- Wear/bring warm clothes and a waterproof shell layer or rain pants/coat.
- Bring a towel or rags to dry yourself off as we come in from outside scenarios.
REGISTRATION: Cost is $45 (Mainly
to cover the cost of expendable first aid supplies students will use in the
training.) Students will need to purchase the textbook on their own
(about $10). You are on your own for meals. A State Park
parking pass is also required ($5/day). Payment is required to
confirm your reservation with checks payable to the "Chemeketans". Email Mike Niemeyer for additional payment instructions. Course Wilderness First Aid Report form and Checklist - We will be including this form in your first aid kits for use during the class scenarios - its a good idea to get familiar with it before class. The form should be printed 2-sided and folded twice so the numbered pages open in order.
Course required reading: Backcountry First Aid, Buck Tilton. This book is $5.95 new from Amazon or a dollar or two used. It’s also available at most outdoor stores including REI. We selected it because it was small in size, very inexpensive, and covered the basics needed for a weekend wilderness first aid course. You must purchase and read this book prior to class - we will be giving you a short quiz on the first day of class - just to keep you honest.
Optional reading
- For the medical professional: Medicine for the Outdoors: The Essential Guide to Emergency Medical Procedures and First Aid, Auerbach. If you have a medical background you'll appreciate the information in any of the books by Paul Auerbach, MD. I frequently use his Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine as a handy desktop reference (I usually have a medical dictionary nearby when I'm reading it). Also for medical professionals: Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care, 5th Ed. This text is often cited as the standard of care for wilderness medicine.
- Other good wilderness first aid books for the lay person:
- A new publication (August 2013) that is both waterproof and low-cost is "The Wilderness First Aid Handbook by http://www.amazon.com/The-Wilderness-First-Aid-Handbook/dp/1620873753 This text is a good resource with current first aid and CPR protocols.
- Mountaineering First Aid by the mountaineers - This is a good text for a wilderness first aid course (We used it for this course previously.)
- Wilderness First Aid, Third Edition: Emergency Care for Remote Locations by AAOS is a nicely produced and illustrated work.
- Silver Falls State Park has cabins, and RV and Tent sites for those who want to stay at the park during the course. Some students have indicated they might want to share a tent site.
- There is no staying in the N Falls lodge overnight (Our training venue). The N Falls lodge is located in the group camp area but we didn’t reserve that camping option due to expense and limited amenities. The tent sites at the main campground are a few miles south of where we will be but have hook ups, heated restrooms and showers. They have cabins and meals: http://www.silverfallsconference.com/cabins You might just give them a call if the reservations link doesn't work. 866-575-8875.
- Carpooling from Salem: If there is interest I recommend Salem folks meet at 6:30 am Saturday and Sunday at the State Motorpool on airport road and leave at 6:45 am. But lets confirm this via email to make sure there is interest in this option.
- Carpooling from Silverton: Email Mike Niemeyer if you are interested in this option.
- We will be at about 1550 ft elevation. (See links below for Park weather and webcams).
Helpful web links:
- Hypothermia Guidelines - Alaska (This is an advanced protocol for EMS folks but provides a detailed discussion of cold injuries.)
Course
Outline
- Course safety considerations
- Legal, moral and ethical issues in wilderness first aid
- Scene survey and scene safety
- Initial Patient Assessment and Urgent first Aid
- Focused Pt Exam (secondary Survey)
- Wounds and Bleeding
- Head, neck and back Injury
- Chest and Abdominal
- Extremity injuries
- Overview of fractures, dislocations, Slings and splints– includes practice.
- Sprains, strains,
- Foot care and Blisters
- Miscellaneous: rings, eye and dental emergencies, CO Poisoning
- Evacuation (Hypo-wrap and evacuation techniques, demo, Litter building demo)
- Burns
- Shock
- Environmental Illness (Cold Injuries, Heat Injuries, Altitude Illnesses)
Sudden
Medical Issues and bites - Difficulty Breathing and chest Pain
- Unconsciousness (non-traumatic)
- Allergic reactions, Bites and stings, Ticks
- Diarrhea
- Organizing a rescue (Assessing rescue needs, Making an effective 911 report, helicopter operations.)
Course Philosophy: This outdoor class is the place to "Take chances, make mistakes and get messy"(Ms. Frizzle)
so you can be prepared for your next outdoor trip, aid other hikers, enjoy
life's legitimate messes (i.e., dirt) and avoid unnecessary suffering (i.e.
giardia.)
Training Location: Note that you will need a state park day use permit (NW forest pass does not work here) to park at the N Falls Lodge. You can get these permits at the automated machine in the parking lot at the North Falls trailhead which is about 1/4 mile past the entrance to the group Campsite - if you are traveling South on Highway 214 . This is also a good reason to carpool.
