The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) announced the launch of a new one day training course Law Enforcement and First Response Tactical Casualty Care (LEFR-TCC).
Working in collaboration with the Denver Health Department of EMS Education and the Denver Police Department Metro/SWAT unit, NAEMT’s Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Committee developed the course to teach public safety first responders (police and other law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders) the basic medical care interventions that will help save an injured responder’s life until EMS practitioners can safely enter a tactical scene.
The course combines the principles of PHTLS and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), the training provided to military medics by all branches of our Armed Services. Course participants will learn life-saving medical actions such as bleeding control with a tourniquet, bleeding control with gauze packs or topical hemostatic agents, and opening an airway to allow a casualty to breathe. Dr. Peter Pons, Associate Medical Director for the PHTLS program, authored the course.
Dr. Pons noted that “This course is a crucial addition to the knowledge and skills foundation of all law enforcement and first response personnel. Tactical situations and active assailants often prevent EMS from responding to a scene and law enforcement officers are often the first and sometimes the only personnel to initially contact a trauma patient until EMS can safely enter. Having the technical skills to provide basic medical interventions such as bleeding control and opening an airway will save a patient’s life, perhaps a fellow officer or maybe an injured bystander, when seconds matter the most.”
This course has already been offered to members of Denver Police Department’s SWAT Unit who have responded very positively to the course content. Ryan Grothe, an officer with the SWAT Unit stated, “Denver Health Paramedic Division and Dr. Peter Pons have taken the proven guidelines and techniques established by Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and successfully condensed the course to include medical knowledge and skills applicable to an officer experiencing a casualty in a hostile or tactical environment. The course allowed our team to successfully and confidently integrate the life-saving techniques of self-aid and buddy-aid into our established techniques, tactics, and procedures for tactical operations."This course can be taught by all NAEMT approved TCCC instructors. For additional information, visit NAEMT’s web site, or contact NAEMT at education@naemt.org or 800-346-2368.
About NAEMT
Formed in 1975 and today over 32,000 members strong, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) is the only national association dedicated to representing the professional interests of all emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners, including paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical responders and other professionals working in prehospital emergency medicine. NAEMT members work in all sectors of EMS, including government service agencies, fire departments, hospital-based ambulance services, private companies, industrial and special operations settings, and in the military.
About PHTLS
Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is the world’s premier prehospital trauma education developed in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons to promote critical thinking in addressing multi-system trauma and provide the latest evidence-based treatment practices. Each year, over 50,000 EMS practitioners and other prehospital providers take the PHTLS course to build and enhance their knowledge and skills in prehospital trauma care.