[philmont] Wilderness First Aid IS REQUIRED in 2008 and beyond

MessageAllow me to re-phrase. For many midwest and eastern Councils WFA has not been a priority. I agree that it should be required for Philmont, along with Northern Tier, Seabase, and really for any High Adventure activity along these lines. The fact remains, many, many Councils have relied on the Red Cross or the Heart Association for 1st Aid / CPR training for many years. It is becoming apparent that those organiztions do not have the resources to accomodate this requirement in this part of the country.
St Louis will have 20 crews for their Council contigent in both 2007 and 2008. Thats a potential of 240 Scouts & Scouters. That does not include the numerous units from this Council that got a lottery slot. We easily could have a WFA course with 40-50 or more participants. I am given to understand that attempts to coordinate some sort of WFA training with the Red Cross in this area has gone nowhere. Not because of Council, but because of the Red Cross. Logistics and cost of a 2-day course remain a concern. Yes, they've been warned. Its not my call on how to handle it. I am merely a cog in the machinery (read volunteer, like all of us) and interested observer. With a Troop going in 07 and a Troop & Venture Crew looking at 09 and beyond, I want to see this work.
I liken this problem to an unfunded federal mandate. National says do this, but provides NO guidance as to how to get it done. As we all know, in this great organization of ours, the bureaucracy can sometimes get in the way of putting on a good Scout program. In the year since this subject first came up, has National in Irving offered any guidance? None that I am aware of. Granted, I'm just a humble UC, but even lowly UCs sometimes hear things that would benefit their units. Not in this case, at least not yet.
My apologies to the list for being long-winded on this topic, but the solutions to this problem are not nearly as simple as everyone thinks they are.

Craig Winney
GSLAC
Philmont '06
ASM T787
Crew 982
New Horizons District Commissioners Staff
etc, etc.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Roy Fisher
  To: philmont List Member
  Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 4:29 PM
  Subject: [philmont] Wilderness First Aid IS REQUIRED in 2008 and beyond

  Well, its not like they haven't been warned!

  WRT the apparent need for WFAB or equivalent east of the Rockies, I respectfully disagree. Something beyond "Call 911 and keep the patient calm" is needed anywhere you are distant from a quick response by EMS. In our part of Texas, many of our popular state parks are 30 to 45 minutes from a town, and many of those would likely not have a EMT service similar to what many of us have come to expect. And in many circumstances that could be encountered on a "normal" Scout activity, 30 to 45 minutes could literally be a lifetime!

  Like you said, you still have another year, and as many of us in Scouting are fond of saying - If not you, who? If not now, when?

  Happy Trails,

  Roy Fisher

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Received on Sat Apr 14 23:33:51 2007