Local Boy Scouts get hands-on training with local emergency team

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Local Boy Scouts get hands-on training with local emergency team

 

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS01/603230600

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BY CHRISTOPHER TOMLIN | COMMUNITY RECORDER

Thursday, March 23, 2006; Posted: 11:15 a.m. EDT

 

FLORENCE -- A large part of learning to be a Boy Scout involves being ready to perform emergency help at a moment's notice, as St. Mary's Alexandria Troop 96 recently learned firsthand while assisting St. Luke Hospital's Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

 

The Disaster Medical Assistance Team of Kentucky, or DMAT KY-1, is a trained group consisting of nurse practitioners, administrators and volunteers prepared to respond to emergency alert calls both locally and nationally.

 

It has deployed assistance to several hurricane sites, helped with the New York ice storm of 1998 and aided victims of 1997's Ohio Valley floods.

 

The DMAT KY-1 team holds disaster simulation exercises to test preparedness, something which DMAT member and Troop 96 Committee leader Steve Hoffman saw as a valuable opportunity for the Scouts' training. By assisting the DMAT team in its exercises on March 17-18, the Scouts of Troop 96 were able to learn valuable rescue techniques while fulfilling essential requirements for the Eagle Scouts' emergency preparedness merit badge.

 

"A disaster response team and a Boy Scout troop are similar in many ways," said Hoffman. "It's a good chance for these Scouts to see what happens, so they'll know what's expected of them if they were to help in an disaster situation."

 

"This simulated emergency is staged," said Anthony Kuhl, a sophomore at Bishop Brossart and Senior Patrol Leader for the troop, "but the skills the Scouts are learning are ones that could come into play later, skills they can use throughout their lives."

 

The Scouts aided the DMAT KY-1 team by assisting in the assembly of tents to create a base of operations and prepared meals for the team throughout the simulation. Some Scouts even played the roles of disaster victims while others learned communication signals used when working with rescue professionals and aircraft operators. The Scouts also learned rescue techniques for victims suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia and other ailments.

 

Assistant Scout leader Bruce Bezold felt that the involvement of Troop 96 was not only beneficial for emergency preparedness but community involvement as well.

 

"They're learning what it means to be responsible to your community," Bezold said. "And community service is key to being a Scout."

 

Dave McClure, unit commander for DMAT KY-1, said Troop 96's help was invaluable to the team's exercises. "They're a joy to work with," McClure said. "These guys are the future of teams like this one."