AHA's Interim BLS & ALS Guidance in COVID-19 Cases

As you may have seen, AHA has announced they have developed new CPR guidance and will publish on Oct. 1, 2020.

In the interim, they published this paper.  Worth a scan to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

As always, your certification agency guidance predominates, and be sure to keep within your scope of practice.

Link to full document here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HWVlAn5KeeABRDaYQwHmDq7eGP5-uluC/view?usp=sharing

SouthBay OEC - Fall 2020 - Indication of Interest

Candidates and Patrollers w/Prospective Candidates -

It's approaching time to open registration for the SouthBay OEC class.  Clearly, there are a number of variables at play here, including: the disease progression, government and other oversight body guidance, the format & protocols under which we'd hold the class, and more, which will all bear on the class itself as well as both candidate & patroller participation. .

While we wait for more data, guidance, and decisions on these fronts, the first question is: If we do the class, would we have candidates and if so, how many?

And so a request - If you are a candidate, or if you are a patroller or patrol director who has candidates, please fill in your candidate name & information on the GoogleSheet below to indicate that you *may* be interested in the class.  Please do so by June 30 2020.

Link here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sdAsdv53cqWjVj7nXPmDHbLL5icCpyPX_VVuT-ihuwo/edit?usp=sharing

Note: As all of us, your decision to attend the class will be made once we have established, and you have reviewed, the class format, protocols, and other safety measures, and you feel comfortable with them.  At this point, we're only looking for your indication of interest in the class, to get a picture of  the numbers we're dealing with.  More information, and the actual event registration to follow soon.

OEC SouthBay 2020 Update

Candidates & Patrollers -

Hope you're all staying safe & sane in these times.  A quick update on our Fall 2020 class:

1. OEC6.  As you've seen/heard, OEC6 is coming out shortly, and all classes taught after Sept. 1 are required to comply with OEC6 protocols.  We have yet to be briefed on them & the roll-out process.  Meetings next week on this.  Once we have greater visibility here, we'll formulate & distribute our plan on what changes, if any, we need to make to our approach.

2. COVID/Virus/Infection Precautions.  Clearly, precautions here will have a big impact on our operations.  Our path forward will be guided by a) guidance from the National office, b) Guidance from California, and c) our own best judgement.  Here too, we need greater visibility on these important, dynamic, and critical issues.  And with that, we'll need a clear plan on how we'll proceed, keeping candidates and instructors as safe as possible.  I'll distribute more info as it becomes available.  If we don't hold class this year, we'll develop some other ways for us to stay connected and refreshed prior to next season.

More info as it develops at: https://oecsouthbay.blogspot.com/

Stay safe & healthy,

Bill

OEC SouthBay 2020

OEC SouthBay training for the 2019-2020 winter season is complete. Check back here in the Spring 2020 timeframe for information about the Fall 2020 OEC SouthBay course. More information on other courses may be at: http://www.easternsierraregion.org/

On Mountain Training

Candidates -

Some good tips here to keep in mind as you start your on-mountain training this season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKqRtAvYrAM

Practical Final Exam Success!

Candidates - 

A big congratulations on your success in your final exam this weekend.  100% pass, many perfect scores, and strong accolades from the examiners.  Well deserved.  I'm confident you'll go on to be great patrollers!

And a big thanks for the patrollers & examiners who helped make the event a success.  And, of course, thanks to our host, Novo Construction, and to our chief judge, Mark Galica, for another great job this year.

Now, give yourself a pat on the back.  And then check CMS...

I've added a few pics to the class photo album here.

Final Exams

Candidates -

Congratulations on your success on the written final!  Now on to the practical exam this Saturday.  Some tips:

1. Practical Exam protocol.  Here are the instructions & protocol for the final practical exam.  Download & read carefully.  We'll review in detail in class on Thrusday.  Link to protocol here.

2. Final Exam Location:  NOVO Construction, 1460 O'Brien Drive, Menlo Park, CA. Use your favorite online mapping program to generate driving directions.  Big thanks to Novo Construction for hosting our event!

3. Final Exam Times:  The first wave of examinations will start promptly at 8:00AM.  The second at 10:30.  Mark Galicia, our Chief Judge, has distributed info on which wave you're in.   Contact me if you don't have that email.  Plan on arriving at Novo AT LEAST 30 mins prior to your exam time.  Meet up with your teammates & do some quick assessments to warm-up.

4 Pre-exam team meeting.  We'll meet as a team 15 minutes before your wave starts.  I've got a little "pre-game" speech for you.