USAR Medical Specialist Course

15 Wake County EMS Paramedics and Assistant Medical Director Paul Hinchey completed the Urban Search And Rescue Medical Specialist Equivalency course. The course taught our newly formed team how to provide care to patients entrapped for prolonged periods in confined spaces, care for USAR canine assets, and attend to the health needs of our USAR team members. Wake County EMS is the only federally trained USAR Medical Specialist team in North Carolina.

The course was held at the Raleigh Fire Department Training Center and included several days of lecture followed by patient care scenarios and a night time practical exercise utilizing Raleigh's rubble pile.

The lead instructor was Dr. David Jaslow, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Level II Instructor, based at Einstein Healthcare in Philadelphia. He is also the Medical Team Manager for Pennsylvania Task Force - 1. He has several years of operational experience including deployments to the Oklahoma City bombing and hurricane Katrina.