Chapter 36 Wilderness Emergency Medical Services and Response Systems
Major disasters from 2000 to 2010:
2001—Gujarat earthquake, India | 20,000 deaths |
2003—Bam earthquake, Iran | 30,000 deaths |
2004—Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | 230,000 deaths |
2005—Kashmir earthquake, Pakistan | 85,000 deaths |
2005—Hurricane Katrina, United States | 1800 deaths |
2008—Sichuan China earthquake | 70,000 deaths |
2008—Cyclone Nargis, Burma (Myanmar) | 150,000 deaths |
2010—Haitian earthquake | 270,000+ deaths |
The principles that will help one to prepare to respond and serve are:
Safety
Shelter
Sustenance
Sanitation
Staying Well
Stress and Sanity
Remote Medicine
BOX 36-1 Mountain Search and Rescue Factors in the United States
Internationally, the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme (i.e., the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, www.uiaa.ch), which is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, has established criteria and courses for postgraduate training in mountain medicine for physicians. After fulfilling these requirements, physicians in the European Union become certified in wilderness medicine and can practice the relevant skills in an appropriate arena. There is now a similar program for physicians being offered in the United States by the Wilderness Medical Society (www.wms.org). The Society has produced a curriculum to address various wilderness medical topics for a total of about 100 contact hours. On completion and qualification, the individual becomes a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.
BOX 36-2 Rescue Personnel and Training in the United States
Sequence of Events During Backcountry Rescue
BOX 36-3 Sequence of Events in Backcountry Rescue