Posted on 05/02/2015 12:34:54 PM PDT by flamberge
As before, this session was held in a city facility and lasted for most of the day.
This session went over “Unit 3” and “Unit 4” of the training materials – “Disaster Medical Operations”. The instructors reviewed information from the previous session on Triage procedures and basic First Aid.
“Triage is not treatment. It is sorting”. This point was emphasized by the instructors. In a mass-casualty event the first thing the responders want to do is identify victims who are uninjured, or do not need immediate medical attention, and get them away from the incident site to a safer location.
Treatment options for injured victims are pretty limited, especially if the responders are not professional crews and have no equipment. Clearing an obstructed airway may be needed and in simple cases may be possible with simple positioning of the patient. Bleeding can be controlled by direct pressure (bandages), by constriction of pressure points, or by tourniquets (belts or bootlaces). The instructors mentioned “Duct Tape” as a useful bandaging material if actual medical supplies are not available. Treatment for shock is simply to keep the patient warm and still. A blanket or coat should be used.
Again the instructors emphasized that CERT volunteers are not expected to be called out as “First Responders”. This sort of thing is best left to professional crews from Fire-and-Rescue, or various Ambulance services. But as the instructors pointed out, the real “First Responders” are any people who are present at the start of an incident.
The very first thing to do in any incident is to call “911” for additional help. The next thing to do is assess the situation and decide “Can I do anything to help here or not”? The instructors’ advice was – “Go Big or Go Home”.
The session continued with practical demonstrations and student-paired exercises which included basic treatments for controlling bleeding and how assist in moving a patient should that be necessary. The exercises were at a basic orientation level and the instructors recommended additional First Aid courses for those interested in further skills development and certifications.
An instructor from the Search-And-Rescue unit explained how teams search areas and buildings for injured victims after a natural disaster such as a flood or forest fire. The instructor mentioned that injured victims may occasionally hide from or actively evade search teams, and that this is of particular concern when searching for lost children. It pays to double check a location.
The afternoon portion covered the Incident Command System (ICS) which is used by CERT, by Fire-and-Rescue Services, by local Law Enforcement, and by the Federal Government. This is the nuts-and-bolts procedures by which volunteers and professionals are dispatched to a scene when a disaster occurs.
Big bump.
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