NDMS Training Summit

Just got back from the NDMS Training Summit. If I hear from anyone at my work that I was "on vacation", I think I will remind them that I need a vacation from my "vacation". It wasn't by any means a vacation. This was work, pure and simple. Granted, it is work in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland (Right next to the Grand Ole Opry), but it was still work...

Day 1 - Travel to Nashville (Got up at 3:30AM to finish packing... left the house at 4:15. Went to work briefly to pick up my USB drive that I forgot, and turn in my parking pass from the day before. First flight at 6:00am. Got to the airport around 5:00am. Next flight was in Denver, CO. Got into Nashville around 2:00. Got to my hotel around 3:00. Checked in, then got over to the training summit to pick up my badge and switch some classes around.


Day 2 - Core Disaster Life Support class (4 hours). Then Electronic Medical Record training for the 3rd time (Longer story here). Butt is getting sore from sitting in hotel conference center chairs.


Day 3 - Basic Disaster Life Support class (8 hours). My butt is starting to get seriously numb.




Day 4 - Advanced Disaster Life Support class, day 1 (8 hours). Now, my legs are getting antsy too! I am drinking iced tea like it is going out of style. And my bathroom breaks have increased due to the iced tea! :-)

Day 5 - Advanced Disaster Life Support class, day 2 (8 hours). THIS IS THE FUN DAY! We had a mass casualty incident (MCI) training. Scenario was a bomb going off at a concert. And a second device went off. We found a third device on a patient. We also had training on patient simulators (These are like manikins, but they respond to what we do. Technically, you could kill them by doing something wrong, or if their injuries are too severe, they could "die". Their eyes blink, they have pupillary responses, they breathe, they have a heart rate and pulses. Its actually kind of eerie. You can push meds and they react. Really cool! Also Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) refresher (For some, it was a brand new experience suiting up). Last class was learning how to use Mark-1 kits (Atropine/Pralidoxime (PAM-2) combo), and how to give smallpox vaccine. All in all, this day made the rear-end trauma of the previous 4 days worth it.

Day 6 - Final general session at the training summit. Very informative presentation by the military on trauma care. Then, it was travel back to Sacramento. Flight left at 6:11pm CST. Next flight from Denver at 9:45. Got back in Sacramento at 11:15pm. After waiting for luggage and my ride, got home around 1:30am today. Crashed until 10:30am.

Now, you may ask, "Why would I take all of these classes?" Because I happen to be one of a group of people who see the writing on the wall. These trainings are an "All Hazards" medical training for mass casualty events. Basically, it puts all healthcare providers on the same page for dealing with MCIs. I see it coming as mandated training for healthcare personnel. And I want to teach it.

So, my next step is to take the instructor training.

Of course, I had "downtime", I went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Carrie Underwood, Randy Travis, and Vince Gil all in the same night. I went to dinner one night with my team, DMAT CA-11, with our sister team CA-6 (All of us do this each year at the conference), and with some friends from other teams on another night. And yeah, I enjoyed a few drinks at night. But trust me, with what I learned, it was no vacation.

Needs evaluation and Going Offline (Maybe)

Yesterday, I was part of a strike team evaluating medical needs in evacuation shelters. We first went down to a town near the Mexico border, and discovered a small town that had their act together beyond belief. They take care of their own, and they do it very well! It was refreshing to see. Mountain and desert communities rely on each other, not outside resources. In fact, the prevailing attitude was "Thank you for coming, but we are fine. Oh yeah, who the hell asked you to come here?" They were pleasant, but it was apparent we were not needed, nor wanted.

We then got another mission to go to another town. As the crow flies, it isn't far (about 40 miles), but due to the fires, it was a LONG trip through El Centro, then up into mountains. It was a 300 mile detour. I have to admit, I got to see a lot of the southern CA desert! It really was a pleasant trip.

The second shelter was bigger, but still well organized. Once we ascertained that they had no pressing needs, we were sent home. They first wanted us to take the long road home, but we found a shorter route, and got home several hours earlier than we would have (We still didn't get back until 10:30pm).

Due to shifting patient populations, we are leaving our current sleeping accomodations, and moving elsewhere. As a result, the network I set up is going bye-bye. I need to take it down, so my WiFi (and thus internet access) is going down in a little while.

I will update more as soon as I can.

Back from San Diego

Wow! San Diego is absolutely beautiful! I went there to attend the NAHMMA (North American Hazardous Materials Management Association) Conference from October 7-12. What an experience! I had the opportunity to work on identification of unknowns, a refresher on some basic chemistry (always useful!), got to tour the San Diego Zoo behind the scenes, and generally enjoy myself after hours as I pleased. It ended way to early! Check one of my previous posts for pictures. I will post an addendum sometime this week, after I go through them all.

Pics from Nashville

Here are some pics from my trip to Nashville. I didn't get to go out much, so all of these are in the hotel, the Gaylord Opryland. This place is absolutely HUGE!

How would you like this view from your room? I had it! This was actually my second room. The first had a problem with the bed (It was very old, and very noisy... I didn't get much sleep my first night there.). They have been renovating the hotel since 2005, and the first room was due to be renovated soon. They moved me to another section of the hotel, and when I saw the view from the balcony, I was sold! This room had been renovated already.






My room. That bed was wonderfully comfortable. :-)












Each of the room areas has an atrium. This hotel is environmentally controlled (68 degrees, humidity controlled). More than once, I went outside briefly, and was reminded that I was still a part of the Earth (30 degree temps at night for the first few nights.). There are 2880 rooms at this hotel, and it is bigger than many of the mega-resorts in Las Vegas.

My room was as far as you could get from the convention facilities and still be in the hotel. It would take me over 7 minutes to get to my room, walking full-speed.

I took this picture. Isn't this orchid absolutely gorgeous?

By the way, ALL the plants at this hotel are real!

I am definitely coming back to this hotel and to Nashville as a tourist! Now, if I only could afford it.