Emergency and Rescue

While studying at Algonquin, numerous opportunities to acquire and practice emergency and rescue skills are interwoven in the curriculum making field application simpler. During my work term I had three instances where I used this knowledge and skills and had to evacuate campers from the park interior to an evacuation point.

The first instance involved a shoulder injury caused by slipping with a food barrel on and required me to assess and determine that the patient would be unable to paddle further. I contacted the base camp about the injury and make arrangements to meet a vehicle to evacuate the child.

The second incident involved a young girl who entered the trip with a preexisting, non-identified injury which led to an escalation of vitals that did not subside. While not life-threatening her condition was incompatible with a safe trip experience. Given our remote location, we had to portage back to a lake with motorboats and to save time requested the assistance of boaters to ferry us to the evacuation point.

The third incident involved an individual who from the moment we left camp through making lunch, two and a half hours later, cried non-stop. Despite our attempts to determine the cause, she would/could not explain herself. Finally, after refusing to eat lunch and the crying persisting, the decision was made to pull her from the trip for the mental well-being of the other kids.

After each of these events I was told by the resident nurses that I made the right call.

The photos that follow are practice sessions for high rope rescue.

This high-angle rope rescue shows me descending with a patient and is an example of an effective and methodical response to an emergency and rescue scenario. This work is supported by a secondary team with a complex, multi-rope system.

High-angle Rope Rescue

This is a high-angle rope rescue scenario off a bridge-like structure. I am ascending the steel structure and stabilizing the patient to keep their head from bouncing off the steel.