wemed, Author at University of Colorado Section of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

Snowblind

Terry O’Connor, MD Clinic Day here on the Tibetan Plateau. Typically the queue is quiet and reserved. I am often amazed by serene, smiling, weather-worn and wrinkled faces . . a stark contrast to each calamity that hides underneath a bloody bandage or crooked arm. Today, however, one hunched over Yak herder, head in his […]

Are we Burning the Spine Board?

Terry O’Connor It’s just so hard to break dogma in medicine these days, but those in the regular practice of wilderness care or prolonged patient transport are happy to see the use of the ubiquitous rigid spine board fade away. Even in New York City we are leaving this practice behind Why? Application of spinal […]

Not Dead Yet

LESSONS LEARNED FROM BEING BURIED ALIVE. THE TAKE HOME Survival of avalanche burial > 30 mins does happen Maintain a sense of urgency in all avalanche rescues until the victim is found INTRO ‘I heard what sounded like a baseball bat hitting a ball – a loud crack. I turned around to look and saw […]

Helicopter Landing Zones

Some general tips to keep in mind: 100 x 100 feet as a general guideline Try to minimize slope of the site. Set up so pilot may approach into wind, Be aware and have approach clear of obstacles (e.g. powerlines ) Prepare the landing surface area (wet dirt to avoid brown out, or stomp snow […]

#Wildmed fellow update

A 7.8 Mw earthquake struck the mountains of Nepal on April 25. I was fortunate to be able to join NYC Medics, a global disaster relief team, to provide care to those affected. We deployed 6 days later and was assigned to the remote region Jharlang. Despite arriving in the field more than a week […]

Search and Rescue Dogs

by Justin McLean Use of Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs The use of trained wilderness search dogs dramatically increases the chances of finding a lost/injured victim. The olfactory bulb in dogs is forty times the size of humans. Therefore trained search dogs will use scent, sound, and visual clues to find a victim or just […]

Introducing the "Section!"

by Jay Lemery It’s my privilege to inaugurate my first WM blog by announcing the arrival of the Section of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine within the Department of Emergency Medicine. What does that mean?! The Section is designed to be a discrete endeavor recognized by the Department with a support structure and recognized faculty—in our […]