|

Wilderness
and Backcountry Medical Care and Training
(Click
HERE for STS Training information)
(Updated
March 10, 2008)
Basic and
Advanced Wilderness First Aid (16/36 Hours)
No
Classes Scheduled
Please read
the following information and links carefully!
Answers to almost every question we are commonly asked about the
Wilderness First Aid classes can be found on these pages.
The Basic (and Advanced)
Wilderness First Aid classes are designed for anyone who
recreates in the outdoors, with or without any prior
training. We have had snowshoers and snowmobilers, ATV riders
and MTB riders, hikers, skiers, dogsled mushers and
4-wheelers. We've also had doctors, nurses, lawyers, preachers
and teachers take the classes. Anyone who wants to
know what to do when things go wrong an hour or more from
ambulances, doctors and hospitals is welcome and will benefit
from the training.
Course
pricing and other information can be found by clicking on the
links below.
E-mail
Backcountry@nospamtrailpatrol.org (Remove the "nospam"
for emailing us.)
for more information.
Click here for
more information on our courses and training materials.
Click HERE to download the application form, with
course pricing. (DOC Format)
(See
Registration and Refund policies below.)
Moratorium
on Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Training
Notice:
Effective December 1, 2007, Emergicare Medical Training and the
Backcountry Trail Patrol Association will no longer be offering
new Wilderness First Responder (WFR) classes, until further
notice. AWFA graduates who are interested in WFR training should
look into classes offered in the Minnesota area by Wilderness
Medicine Institute of NOLS or Wilderness
Medical Associates until training materials become available
from ECSI for the WFR program. We will continue to
offer recertification/refresher classes for Wilderness First
Responders certified by Emergicare in previous classes.
MN
DOT Required Special Transportation Service (STS) Training
This
section has moved to:
Emergicare
Medical Training, Inc.
www.emergicaretraining.org
For
further information, contact:
E-mail
emergicare@nospamtrailpatrol.org (Remove the "nospam"
for emailing us.)
for more information.
Registration and
refund policies:
Please
read: Individual enrollment
in all Backcountry Trail Patrol Association/Emergicare Medical
Training, Inc. (Emergicare) courses is limited. To reserve a
space in an Emergicare course, please return your application
form and the appropriate tuition/deposit in check or money order
only (We do not accept credit cards at this time.) to Emergicare. Courses
under $200.00 require tuition payment in full at
the time of registration. (A non-refundable deposit of $100.00
is required for Wilderness First Responder-level courses, and
will be applied to the course cost.) Full,
non-refundable and non-transferable tuition is due 14 days prior to
the course. However, in the event of a student being unable to
attend a course they have registered for, their payment may be
applied to another Emergicare course at the same level, upon
approval by Emergicare Medical Training. Prior to 14 days before
the course date, tuition may be refunded, minus a 15% administrative fee to cover expenses.
If a program is
cancelled by Emergicare due to low enrollment, the full
deposit/tuition will be refunded.
Special
Notice to Missionary Organizations, Summer Camps, Guide Services and Outdoor
Groups:
Emergicare can conduct wilderness and backcountry and missions medical training programs at your
location, and customized to meet your needs. E-mail
Backcountry@nospamtrailpatrol.org (Remove the "nospam"
for emailing us.)
for more information.
|
Cold Weather
Medical Problems

Consider
the Sun a Bad Guy
(This
information is provided in memory of
Anoka
County
Park
Ranger Sgt. Warren Helsene, who succumbed from the effects of
skin cancer, only six months after detection.)
The
dangers of the sun are year round, but are especially bad in the
summer.
By
Officer Gary McLaughlin
Sacramento
Police Department (CA)
Reprinted
by permission of IPMBA
News
Young
skin can repair itself, but sun damaged skin can’t repair
itself as well. Not only does ultra violet light from the sun
cause mutation of healthy cells into potentially cancerous
cells, but sun damaged skin is less able to defend itself
against these cells, which grow and multiply, possibly into
cancer.
Melanoma
is the most serious, most common cancer among young adults.
Melanoma kills over 7,000 Americans every year, with 35,000
having to endure the miseries of aggressive cancer treatment to
beat it. If detected early, melanoma is 90% curable.
It’s
never too late to have a sunscreen strategy. Listed below are
six steps for safe sunning.
1.
Schedule it:
Avoid the sun between
10:00 a.m.
and
2:00 p.m.
– the sun’s most powerful time. Since most of us are not
able to modify our schedules to miss these times, please be sure
to take note of the following steps to prevent the harmful
effects of the sun. Remember that it’s not only the direct
sun, but also the reflection and bouncing of the sun’s rays
off of the white cement and glass covered buildings that
intensifies the sun’s damaging effects.
2.
Try it:
Experiment and test several products to find the one that suits
you best – especially if you have sensitive skin.
3.
Number it:
Use at least SPF 15 on your legs and SPF 30 on your face, ears,
neck and arms. SPF 15 blocks 94% and SPF 30 blocks 97% of the
sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays.
4.
Time it:
Apply sunscreen ½ hour
before you go out in the sun and reapply halfway through the
shift because if you sweat a lot you will lose some of the
protection. The chemicals need time to be absorbed into, and to
create a barrier on, your skin.
5.
Cover it:
Use sunscreen on all exposed parts of your body, make sure you
cover the ears and nose. Dermatologist Dr. Gravenese states that
90% of the basal and squamous cell cancers she removes are from
ears and noses. Choose moisturizers that have sunscreens and use
them on your face, ears, neck and hands everyday and on other
parts if they’re exposed.
6.
Pale it:
Protect yourself from
burning but also consider avoiding a tan altogether. A tan is a
sign that ultraviolet rays are reaching your skin and causing
changes. If your sunscreen lets you tan, consider a higher SPF.
Because bike units are exposed to ultraviolet rays at the worst
time of the day and officers are not able to protect their skin
with clothing, it is very important to know how to care for your
skin. Using common sense and the proper sunblocks can minimize
or eliminate the chance of skin cancer. Please read the
following article and live longer and pain free.
The
following information was taken from the April/May 1997 issue of
a Fitness Swimmer article, "Stay Safe in the
Sun" by Kathryn C. Kukala:
Sunscreen
will protect you against burning and pre-mature aging, but it
won’t stop the spread of skin cancer. For that, you’ve got
to examine your skin and become familiar with existing moles.
Melanoma,
the most dangerous form of skin cancer, often begins as a new
mole or a change in an existing mole. "If a mole changes
over months, rather than years, see a dermatologist,"
advises Patrick Bitter Jr. M.D., a dermatologist from
Los Gatos
,
California
.
New,
non-cancerous moles can appear on adults into their 30’s. When
a new mole appears, or changes occur in an existing mole, look
for the ABC’s (and D) of melanoma.
ASYMMETRICAL
shape
BORDERS
that are irregular
COLOR
variations in the mole
DIAMETER
of more than 6 mm (pencil eraser
size)
Enlist
a partner to keep an eye on hard to see areas, Bitter
recommends. It could save your life: on men, melanomas are most
common on the upper back or the shoulder blades; on women, the
back of the calf.
Don’t
be shy with your dermatologist. Ask them to look at all of your
skin. Bitter finds three melanomas a year on average while
performing total skin exams on patients who come in for other
complaints, such as warts on a finger or facial acne. "If
you have a new dermatologist, ask for a total body skin
exam," he says.
You’re
at high risk for melanoma and should get an annual total skin
exam if you have fair or freckled skin and light eyes, if you
have a family history of melanoma or if you had more than one
sunburn as a child.
About Emergicare
Medical Training:
Emergicare and Wilderness Rescue Associates,
have been providing
training in EMS and backcountry rescue since 1978. They were merged together to form
Emergicare Medical Training, Inc., a non-profit, educational
organization. New quality control programs were instituted to
better respond to the suggestions and needs of trainees, and
new, custom training materials are continually under development. Emergicare
Medical Training specializes in wilderness first aid and medical care, and Minnesota
DOT special-needs transportation (STS) driver training at reasonable tuition rates. Our
primary operating philosophy is that you
are more likely to take specialized training if it is
informative, enjoyable and affordable. Emergicare Medical
Training, Inc. is a non-profit, educational program of the Backcountry Trail Patrol Association, Inc.
For further
information on Emergicare Medical Training programs, please
Click
to send us e-mail
|