Emergency Response and Wilderness First Aid
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Emergency Response MI in front of the DART. Photo Courtesy
of Thomas Hermanson.
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“You, call 911! And you, get the AED!” As a student grabbed the Automated External Defibrillator and ripped open the packaging containing the electrode pads, I knew our March Intensive was off to a great start.
Emergency Response and Wilderness First Aid began Tuesday morning in Mr. Hermanson’s room. Shortly after 8:00, we began our training in CPR and AED. With the assistance of multiple nurses, we practiced all the parts of CPR until we had mastered the skills. Soon afterwards, we used AED trainers to practice giving electric shocks in order to revive unconscious patients. After lunch, our group headed over to DHMC. We were given a guided tour of the DHART (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Air Response Team) facilities, where we were able to explore the hangars and even climb inside the helicopter and the ambulances!
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Hiking and learning in the snowy outdoors. Photo courtesy
of Thomas Hermanson.
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On Wednesday morning, we met at the high school and traveled up to Crawford Notch, in the White Mountains. We arrived just in time for lunch at the Highland Center, an Appalachian Mountain Club Lodge. The Highland Center is a leading example in green technology, both the staff and the lodge itself being extremely environmentally conscious. The lodge is also extremely luxurious, making for a beautiful facility. In addition, the Highland Center serves healthy and nutritious meals, especially good for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. After lunch, we began our Wilderness First Aid course, taught by SOLO, an outdoor education group. After a couple hours of classroom learning and outdoor scenarios, it was time for dinner, a delicious homestyle-served meal. After dinner, we continued to learn about fractures and other musculoskeletal injuries while building impromptu splints and wraps. Afterwards, we had some free time to talk and play some games.
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Learning First Aid. Photo courtesy of
Thomas Hermanson
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On Thursday morning, we woke up to a delicious breakfast. After wrapping up the meal, we prepared for more classroom instruction and outdoor scenarios. Before lunch, we all packed up our daypacks for a hike up Mt. Pierce, a 4,310 ft. Presidential mountain. As we continued upward, we had to break trail through foot-deep powder and increasing snow flurries. Eventually, we reached what was, more or less, the summit. We soon got ready to head down, but not before a quick snack. We got down just in time to take quick showers and head over to dinner. Afterwards, we had the night free to watch extreme skiing movies and play games.
On Friday morning, we finished up our SOLO Wilderness First Aid course and received our certification. Around noon, we picked up our bagged lunches and headed home.
All in all, Emergency Response and Wilderness First Aid was a great March Intensive option. We had a great time and spent some quality time outdoors. The information we learned is also practical— in the future, it may even end up saving someone’s life!