Wilderness First Aid 2024

Camp Cutler at the Walmsley Sawyer Training Center

Friday, May 3 at 5:00 – Sunday, May 5 at 4:00

Why Wilderness First Aid?  Time is the essential element distinguishing wilderness first aid from standard first aid. When calling 9-1-1 is not an immediate option, or when help could be an hour or even days away, the task of managing the injured and the ill can challenge you beyond basic first-aid knowledge. Long hikes, extended lengths of rivers, large expanses of ocean, and miles of asphalt may separate the patient from a medical facility. You may have to endure heat or cold, rain, wind, or darkness, and communication with the "outside world" may be limited or nonexistent. All of these things may be a part of the world of WFA.  Join us for this course so that you and your fellow Scouts may travel with the confidence that you are prepared.

Prerequisite: Must have valid Youth Protection Training. Must have current, BSA-provided basic First Aid/CPR/AED certificate. Scouts must also be 14 years of age, and first class or higher. Participants must be able to hike short distances to remote sites and simulate rescues.

What to bring: Hiking materials; boots, indoor/outdoor clothing, flashlight, your personal first aid kit, camping gear of your own, and notebook and pencils for note-taking.

Fees: Includes course materials, shared participant campsites with fire pits, all food beginning with Friday evening cracker barrel through lunch on Sunday, and certifications.

• $125 For participants receiving both the prerequisite training and the WFA training.
• $105 with a valid, BSA University of Scouting-provided First Aid/CPR/AED certificate dated for *fall 2023 OR *spring 2024.  Must send proof of certification before the course begins.

Certification: Wilderness First Aid Certification upon satisfactory completion of the course, which is valid for 2yrs.

Topics Covered: (through lecture, skills stations, and scenarios)

• Emergency Action Steps
• Carrying out an emergency plan, and when to evacuate
• Caring for the patient long term
• Preventing Disease Transmission
• Treatment of injuries: Wounds, head and spinal injuries, extremity injuries, abdominal injuries, sudden illnesses
• And more backcountry miseries!

For registration or website assistance, contact Seneca Waterways Council at (585) 244-4210

For questions about the course, reach out to your friendly neighborhood instructors:

Cheri Downie: (585) 301-8865

Victor Flanagan: (585) 409-0639