Mountain Disaster Preparedness Community Emergency Response Team learn about patient assessment

Mountain Disaster Preparedness is a local nonprofit that has a number of working groups within it, including its CERT (Community Emergency Response Team.) This group undergoes training that includes many aspects of emergency response, including first aid.

CERT’s regular meetings are the first Thursday of the month and are held in the meeting room of Idyllwild Fire Protection District. Some meetings include presentations by members of IFPD, but the latest session was led by Richard Yocum, a retired MD who is a part of MDP’s Core Medical Group (CMG). The purpose of the class was not to teach first aid, but to help volunteers evaluate patients in an emergency and be able to communicate with medical professionals and first responders. This was the first of a series of medical trainings CMG will be presenting.

Yocum presented an overview of types of patient assessments that medical professionals and first responders use but focused on the system used by Wilderness First Responders (WFR) in their certification program, which he has completed. The object is to teach students how to “perform a comprehensive physical examination, gather critical patient history, and evaluate vital signs.” Training in a system helps volunteers communicate clearly and concisely and stay calm in an emergency. The system includes a sequence of actions to protect the safety of responders, bystanders and patients.

The introduction to the WFR system was followed by a role-playing exercise. The members broke into teams of three and were given envelopes describing realistic scenarios. One person was to play “patient”, another was to evaluate them, and the third would act as scribe. The “patient” knew things about their condition or medical history that the evaluator had to find out by asking the right questions. It was like a game of 20 questions with a purpose, and team members said they had fun while learning serious lessons.

MDP’s website says the group was founded in 1986 to address the unique challenges of living in and visiting our ‘Island in the Sky’ and recognizing the potential emergency concerns of a mountain community. The group is ready to help whenever the need arises, and to interface with various first responders.

MDP plans to hold a three-day drill in April which will allow participants to be certified as CERT members. Membership in MDP is free, and you can sign up online. For more information visit mdpidyllwild.org.