Wilderness First Aid
and CPR -
While the Austin Sierra Club
requires leaders to take (and remain current qualifications
in) both Wilderness First Aid and CPR, these classes are
not currently taught by the Austin group. This page is designed
to provide guidance to leader candidates who want to find
a good WFA or CPR class to take. NOTE: Wilderness First
Aid is NOT the same as a regular First Aid class like those
taught by the Red Cross. WFA is more extensive and requires
more training since making the victim comfortable and calling
9-1-1 is not an option on most of our trips.
There are several organizations
that offer WFI training. In our part of the country, the
most common (and most reputable) courses are offered by
the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WFI), frequently in partnership
with the National Outdoor Leadership Schools (NOLS) and
an institute of higher learning.
Here is the URL for the homepage
of the Wilderness Medicine Institute:
Wilderness
Medicine Institute home
And here is the URL for the
NOLS WMI Wilderness First Aid classes (you will have to
search the list for a class with a convenient date and location):
NOLS
WFA listing
For the ambitious, committed
and/or independently wealthy, we recommend the Wilderness
First Responder course. This course is somewhat overkill
for a leader who intends to only lead day hikes, but it
is recommended for leaders who lead trips into remote area
where medical assistance is at least 8 hours away. Here
is the location on the National site that defines the suggested
leader training qualifications based on distance from medical
services:
Leader
Training Guidelines [note that you will be
asked for an ID and PASSWORD to access this list of guidelines.
Contact Chuck
for an access ID and PASSWORD if you do not have one that
you normally use to access the Mitchell server.]
The
University of Texas
offers three relevant classes in the 2008/2009 timeframe:
Please
see the UT
Rec Sports website for detailed information
on times, dates and cost.
The Executive Committee is
willing to consider scholarship applications for Outings
Leaders who have led at least one major trip and want to
be certified as "woofers" or Whitewater Rescue
Technicians. Scholarship reimbursements up to 50% of the
class cost will be considered, depending on available funding
and applicant strength. Please contact Becky
or any of the other ExCom members to be considered if you
want to take advantage of this scholarship.
Outings leaders are encouraged
to find other providers of Wilderness First Aid classes,
but should be aware that the typical First Aid class is
not suitable for Wilderness First Aid qualification. Most
First Aid classes are designed to provide short-term, stop-gap
emergency care while the EMS folks are on the way. When
you are in the wilderness and 4 hours from a telephone and
another 3 hours from rescue, the typical 'stop the bleeding
and call 911' First Aid protocols will not cut it. If you
find a Wilderness First Aid training provider not discussed
here, please consult with the Austin Sierra Club Outings
chair before registering for the course.
CPR Certification
-
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In addition to wilderness first aid certification, the Austin
Sierra Club requires that Outings Leaders take CPR classes
as part of their qualification for leadership. There are
a number of places where these classes are taught. State
employees frequently have access to free CPR classes at
their place of work and several other employers also provide
similar free classes. The UT Health Services folks provide
CPR classes for a reasonable fee. Here is a link to their
classes:
UT
CPR classes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACC offers a number of CPR classes (we require only Adult
CPR, so if you can find a class that does not include infant
and child CPR, it will qualify, although infant/child training
is also useful for general purposes.)
ACC CLASSES - CPR
Here are links to a couple
of other sources of CPR certification. Most of them are
adequate. Frankly, CPR is not rocket science and just about
anyone certified by the American Heart Association or the
Red Cross can provide training adequate for our use.
Austin
CPR Classes - taught by AHA-certified instructors
Austin-CPR
- owned by Pam Clopton - US Air Force instructor
Finally, we are working on
some additional training options. We are in contact with
a local trainer who has taught the Austin Community College
Wilderness First Aid course for several years (ACC has since
dropped the course). John will teach a course locally for
about $60 per person if we can guarantee him a minimum class
size. If this works out, it will be an ideal way for new
leaders to satisfy their WFA requirement locally in a single
weekend. More on this later as we continue negotiations
with John. Contact Becky
if you are interested in being a part of this class if we
can get it together.
One of our outings leaders
is also a nurse and is working on her qualification as a
CPR instructor. If this can be arranged, we may be able
to offer a one-day CPR certification class through the local
Austin Sierra Club either free or at a very nominal charge
for new leaders. More on this later as well.
