The
Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is excited to welcome Longleaf Wilderness
Medicine (LWM). Initially founded due to the need for emergency medical
training after Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast of the US, Jason Luthy, LWM’s
owner, and Dr. Lynn Yonge 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.
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. Their courses are all encompassing.
Courses
provided include 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. 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. 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,’ explained Jason. ‘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.’
Jason
holds certificates as a WEMT (Wilderness certificate plus the National Registry
EMT certificate), Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS), and he is a
candidate for the Fellowship of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) 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.
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