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Chamber welcomes Longleaf Wilderness Medicine

| August 14, 2013 7:00 AM

SANDPOINT — Initially founded due to the need for emergency medical training after Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast, Longleaf Wilderness Medicine is the creation of owner Jason Luthy and Dr. Lynn Yonge.

The pair collaborated to design LWM to provide usable medical education for the Gulf Coast in times of limited access to medical services. The initial LWM trainings taught a form of medicine called Wilderness Medicine.

LWM recently joined the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

Wilderness medicine is the practice of providing medical care first aid in environments with limited resources and access to emergency medical services. The wilderness medicine curriculums taught by LWM provide detailed information about the prevention, assessment, and treatment of injuries and illnesses. All courses teach up to date current evidence-based treatment practices.

Whether you’re an individual who travels or lives in remote environments or a governmental agency, non-profit organizations, medical professionals, humanitarian workers, guiding businesses and schools that provide hikes for their students and scouts, said Luthy.

The courses are all encompassing.

Courses provided include:

n Wilderness first aid, a two-day (16-hour) certification course for individuals who take short trips into remote environments or individuals who are responsible for providing initial medical care for individuals or groups.

n Wilderness first responder, nine-day (76-hour) certification course, is the standard for individuals working in remote environments like backcountry guides/instructors, governmental agents working in remote environments and individuals traveling long distances from emergency medical services.

n Medical electives for medical school students,  a four-week elective for senior medical school students interested in remote medicine.

LWM also offers custom courses ranging from 45 minutes to multiple days designed to meet the specific needs of individuals or organizations.

The goal of LWM from the beginning has been to provide accessible, quality, education to communities and business to better prepare people to respond to emergencies. Jason Luthy studied education and began working in the outdoor education industry.  He’s worked throughout the US teaching individuals aged from young to old for populations from at-risk youth, college students, to veterans. For the past 7 years, he’s worked with Outward Bound throughout the US as a field instructor, course director, trainer, and program developer.

“I’ve focused my professional interest on providing adult education, and went to graduate school to earn a M.S. in experiential education,” Luthy said. “The degree provided me an intimate understanding of how to design educational environments to be highly productive and beneficial for the learner. Throughout my experience leading wilderness expeditions I built my knowledge and skill in providing remote medicine to be prepared to treat injuries and illnesses.”

Luthy holds certificates as a WEMT (wilderness certificate plus the national registry EMT certificate), advanced wilderness life support, and he is a candidate for the Fellowship of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine from the Wilderness Medicine Society. In addition to running LWM Jason has used his experience and training to work and volunteer with ambulance services, in emergency rooms, and as a volunteer with the local search and rescue.

Information: phone, (208) 274-3596; online, www.longleafmedical.com; email, info@longleafmedical.com