These accidents could happen anywhere.
Whether from inadvertent accidents or intentional acts of terrorism, the threat of toxic exposures to people is at an all-time high, says Frank Walter, MD, chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at The University of Arizona Department of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Walter and others at the UA developed the Advanced HAZMAT Life Support (AHLS) Course to train emergency health professionals to treat victims of hazmat incidents.
The medical treatment of people exposed to toxic substances requires specialized knowledge and skills, Dr. Walter says. Medical personnel need to be able to rapidly assess hazmat patients, recognize the symptoms of exposure to a particular toxic substance and immediately give specific antidotes.
"The AHLS course is the only one of its kind where attendees learn medical management of toxic exposures," he says.
Offered by the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center (AEMRC), a Center of Excellence at the UA College of Medicine, in collaboration with the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT), the course covers important hazmat properties; decontamination; rapid assessment and medical treatment of hazmat-exposed patients; antidotes and drug therapy; and establishment of hazmat-response systems in the community.
Each course involves a board-certified toxicologist and medical doctor and is taught by AHLS verified instructors. The AHLS program also trains other medical personnel to become AHLS instructors who bring the course to their regions. The course format includes lectures, followed by small-group interactive case studies and concludes with verification exams.
Since its development in 1999, more than 6,000 emergency responders and health professionals throughout the world have received AHLS training. Participants have included paramedics, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, toxicologists, industrial hygienists and risk-management personnel from more than 46 nations, including the United States, Canada, Greece, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong, China.
"Hazmat exposures pose a common threat to communities and individuals in the U.S. and internationally," Dr. Walter says. "AHLS enables health care professionals to become the guardian angels of the front-line heroes -- the firefighters, medics and law enforcement officers who respond to hazmat incidents and terrorist attacks. AHLS also enables health care professionals to provide state-of-the-art medical therapy for victims of hazmat incidents and toxic terrorism."
More information about the course is available at: www.ahls.org
