What It Takes To Rescue In Wilderness Situations

(Great Smoky Mountains) – Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (Tremont) and Roane State Community College Center of Health Sciences (RSCC) bring together an outstanding team of instructors January 20 – 27, 2008 to teach real life scenarios in our Wilderness First Responder course. 

Teachers, youth workers, camp counselors and outdoor enthusiasts will use Great Smoky Mountains National Park as their classroom while learning the needed skills to be eligible for national registry and state testing to become certified first responders.

Tremont’s Louise Barber endowment fund provides scholarship funds to help individuals participate in Wilderness First Responder course. This fund is in memory of Louise Barber who fell and died at Ramsey Cascade in 1962.  This fund was set up by Louise’s father, David Barber and the Barber family. Under the direction of honorable Gary R. Wade the fund was placed in Tremont’s endowment to aid safety education in the park. Ask about the Barber Fund scholarship when inquiring about this program.

Search and rescue in wilderness areas require practice, skill, testing and sharp awareness of the victims needs. Wilderness First Responder certification is taught with hands-on experience in true to life situations.

“Prepared, is the operative word for these courses, states Kirk Harris, instructor from RSCC, “you are expected to have the knowledge and show the expertise in helping victims that are depending on you to stabilize them and safely transfer them to an area hospital as needed.”

The curriculum meets the Tennessee Emergency Management System standards and national registry standards for First Responder training. You don’t have to be a park employee or a paramedic to get this valuable training. You do have to have a current professional level CPR certification.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private non-profit organization that operates a residential environmental learning center within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Since 1969 Tremont has provided in-depth experiences to hundreds of thousands of people of all ages through residential educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.

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