Center for Disaster Medicine Conducts Inaugural Tactical Emergency Casualty Course
The Center for Disaster Medicine conducted its inaugural Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) Course on March 19 and 20 to teach EMS practitioners and other responders how to respond to and care for patients in a civilian tactical environment and decrease preventable deaths in a tactical situation.
George W. Contreras, M.E.P., M.P.H., M.S., CEM, EMTP, fifth from left, assistant director of the Center for Disaster Medicine and assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences Institute of Public Health, and two New York City Police Department instructors led the instruction for a multidisciplinary group including members of the Westchester County Police, Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the New York City Paramedic Program and the Westchester County Department of Health Commissioner, Sherlita Amler, M.D., M.S., sixth from left, who is adjunct professor in the School of Health Sciences and Practice and a senior fellow in the Center for Disaster Medicine.
"Having participants from different fields adds tremendous value to the training experience because it allows responders to see how other people function. It fosters collaboration with more understanding and respect for each other," said Mr. Contreras. The 16-hour classroom course covers hemorrhage control, surgical airway control and needle decompression, strategies for treating wounded responders in threatening environments, caring for pediatric patients, and techniques for dragging and carrying victims to safety.