Emergency responders at all levels may experience tragic events involving mass casualties at some point in their career. Emergency Medical Services workers are often on the frontlines with other response personnel, and understanding the potential threats they all face could determine a successful outcome to the emergency response.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) features a three-day EMS course that addresses the effects of chemical and biological agents-including radiation and explosives injuries.
The WMD Emergency Medical Services (EMS) course is one of several healthcare-related classes preparing the response community for accidental or manmade emergency events.
According to EMS course manager John Skinner, the diverse group of response providers who participate in this course includes emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency room nurses, medical emergency planners, and law enforcement officers.
“Any time a medical responder-or any responder with medical skills-initiates contact with a potential casualty in the field, they place themselves at the mercy of a terrorist or an accidental hazardous environment,” said Skinner. “The fact that hazardous situations can be harmful if responded to improperly, which makes responders the victims, is important. This EMS training provides the nation’s responders with the required skills to protect themselves, while they perform their important life-saving mission for the public.”
“This wasn’t simple EMS training,” said Michael Montgomery, an EMT-Dispatcher from Oklahoma City. “It is not what you expect. When you walk away from this course it is going to make you a better medic. You’re going to approach emergency situations with a new perspective, and a better ability to identify hazards. I also have a better understanding of what other emergency departments-such as firefighters-experience, and can be a better asset during an emergency.”
The EMS course has been part of CDP training courses for the past four years. Each class can accommodate 40 responders. Successful completion of the training includes 2.4 Continuing Education Units (CEU).
According to Mike Aguilar, CDP training specialist, many responders are frequently finding themselves at the center of a dangerous event, compared to a few years ago when medical personnel received victims outside the crime scene or accident.
“In the past, our emergency healthcare response providers may not have known patients were potentially contaminated with life-threatening toxic material” commented Aguilar. “And if they did know of the danger, they were unsure of the proper response procedures required to protect the patient, themselves, and their colleagues. The CDP EMS training instills the proper use of triage techniques, decontamination, and treatment and stabilization of victims while emphasizing response force safety.”
The EMS course places the students in an unusual environment. According to Skinner, healthcare responders across America may someday be forced to face a catastrophic, stressful event. Responders who participate in the EMS training gain a new appreciation for a variety of hazardous and dangerous situations.
“This course isn’t designed to refresh blood pressure procedures,” said Skinner. “It starts them thinking out of the box in reference to treatment of mass casualties in a contaminated environment.”
“The hands-on experience makes a difference,” said Stephanie Maze, a paramedic from Asheville, N.C. “The seasoned paramedic will even benefit, and the WMD focus makes the training more relevant.”
Another goal of EMS is awareness. Medical response personnel should approach a disaster scene with an index of suspicion and be able to identify other potential hazards without becoming victims-and prevent the loss of other responders’ lives, Skinner added.
Most CDP courses last three days and, on occasion, a fourth day is added to EMS that includes training at the Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological Training Facility (COBRATF). The students have an opportunity to reinforce the EMS course triage and decontamination procedures while in a genuine toxic nerve agent environment. Upon completion of the COBRATF training, they have gained confidence in their protective gear-and in themselves- to respond to a contaminated scene.
Responders enrolling in the EMS course who also wish to attend COBRA training should request this through the State Administrative Agency representative or their CDP Regional Coordinator.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is located in Anniston, Ala., and offers 39 courses designed for all emergency response disciplines. CDP training for state, local, and tribal responders is fully funded by FEMA, a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Round-trip air and ground transportation, lodging, and meals are provided at no cost to responders or their agency or jurisdiction.
To learn more about the Center for Domestic Preparedness, visit http://cdp.dhs.gov or call 866-213-9553. For more information about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, visit http://www.cdc.gov.
