Scouts practice first aid using real scenarios at first-aid meet
Campfire burns, a twisted ankle, hypothermia, frostbite — all very real dangers a person may experience when adventuring with a group or alone in remote environments.
These are the real scenarios and injuries Scouts BSA troops of the Moraine Trail Council learned how to handle and treat at its annual first-aid meet Saturday, March 7, at Slippery Rock Area Elementary School.
The meet brought together 11 to 16 year old scouts from Armstrong, Butler and Lawrence counties.
“We tried to tailor all the scenarios into things that the scouts would actually see in real life, whether it be a hiking trip, a camp-out or something like that,” said Kristin Kirkwood, a scout leader with emergency room experience from Troop 6670 in Ford City.
This was her second year organizing the meet.
“The things that people do before they get to (the E.R.), the stabilization things, can make all the difference in recovery,” Kirkwood said.
The scouts began the day with a written exam before instructors rotated between stations explaining the medical scenarios to scouts.
The five scenarios scouts had to navigate involved a fallen climber with head and spinal injuries, burns from a campfire, a lost hiker with hypothermia and frostbite, a choking incident and a chain saw accident.
“I’m learning from this if it happens in the real world,” said Luke, a 12-year-old scout from Troop 501 in Lower Burrell.
Luke said one of his roles was to emulate a lost, hypothermic hiker with severe confusion. His fellow scouts found him in the wilderness and had to treat him.
Scouts from Troop 58 in Middlesex Township said the meet left them feeling more confident about assisting injured people they may encounter in their lives now that they’ve done more than read about it in their scout handbook.
“You need hands-on practice,” said Grady Klingensmith, an 11-year-old scout with the troop.
Kirkwood also taught the scouts about good Samaritan Laws, which provide legal immunity when attempting to offer reasonable first-aid.
“I don’t want them to be afraid to try to help, or because they’re afraid they’re going to do something wrong or hurt someone … It’s a good Samaritan Law for a reason,” Kirkwood said.
The scouts could have had points deducted if they did something clearly against medical advice, such as pulling out a protruding object from someone’s body instead of stabilizing it or applying direct heat to frostbite instead of gently warming the area.
“It’s part of the scout program, pretty much for every rank advancement, to learn general first aid and get more advanced,” said Caelan Hinterlang, a district executive for the Moraine Trails Council.
He said the first-aid and emergency preparedness merit badges are required to become an Eagle Scout, which is why scouts practice them every year.
“First aid is something you want to have for any time you’re going out,” Hinterlang said.
He added many of the instructors also have real-world experience as EMTs and first responders.
“Having people that know how to handle (emergency situations) is, for one thing, it enables youth become a bit more independent and a bit more sure of themselves,” Hinterlang said, “but it also just gives our society more people that are better adjusted and better prepared for whatever they might face.”
