Death by Rescue: Managing Crush Injuries 

The most important component of Technical Rescue is the rescue. Rescue implies the removal of a LIVE victim, which can only be accomplished with a built-in, comprehensive medical program. In many cases, lack of a medical component and prompt, advanced patient care will result in adverse effects and/or death. While all programs stress the highly technical component of scene stabilization and victim disentanglement, only some programs also stress the vital patient care and packaging needed to maximize patient outcome. This course will focus on “bridging the gap” between Rescue and Medical in complex technical rescue situations to avoid the proverbial “death by rescue.”  After attending this presentation, the learner will be able to

-           Assess crush injuries based on mass and energy of trauma.

-           Synthesize a treatment and extrication plan based on all factors involved.

-           Justify the use of additional resources for extended rescue/medical operations