Splinting Practice -- January 31, 2004

	Splinting Practice Saturday January 31, 2004 starting at 9 am at Fire Station 5, next to Dewitt Park x marks the Hillsdale NET staging area behind the bleachers at Wilson High School

January 31, 2004

Twelve NET team members showed up from 6 different NET teams.
Splinting
and general response to injuries
with Lt. Kevin Shanders
Portland Fire Bureau

TRIAGE: then...

Then we make a general assessment: A (airway), B (bleeding), C (circulation)

Followed by a whole body assessment -- head to toe.

Find fractures, internal injuries, external bleeding. Look for signs of shock, head injuries, internal bleeding. Note breathing, pain, rigidity, swelling, discoloration, dislocation, medi-alert bracelets, etc.

Under the experienced eye of Kevin Shanders, the NET members gain a bit of that knowledge which comes from experience.

Here we had a virtual amputation. The bleeding would soon be fatal. A tourniquet was necessary. Materials were found in a junk pile in the garage. Rags, pieces of pipe, scraps of wood, pieces of Romex house wiring, etc. All were potential life-savers ("junque").

A fractured tibia. Cardboard from the garage was fashioned into a firm splint and fixed into place with masking tape. A similar splint was made for a suspected broken ankle

More fractures. Duct tape performed its all-purpose function.

However,...see below.

A sling for a fractured arm to support and help immobilize

A fractured femur: The victim was in great pain. Pulling hard on the ankle put traction on the leg and greatly alleviated the pain...and would soon relieve the tetanus in the leg muscles. A slat in a nearby fence was torn out of place and used for the splint. Several volunteers were recruited to roll the victim up and slide the fence slat under the injured leg--while the leg puller directed the operation to assure fast, precise, coordinated movements.

Duct tape gives.