Photos

Fall 2007 Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) Course

Over forty health care professionals from around the country spent a weekend in Morganton receiving training on many wilderness medical topics not traditionally covered in nursing or medical school.

The 3-day course, “Advanced Wilderness Life Support”, was conducted by The Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine (ACWM). The course was hosted by Western Piedmont Community College.

The view from WPCC Campus. The modern discipline of wilderness medicine deals with medical care provided in environments with few resources, as well as high-tech management of environmental emergencies such as lightning strikes or drownings.

This was the first time this course was offered in the Carolinas. Students and instructors traveled from as far away as Boston, Texas and Utah to attend.

Students also came from close to home including doctors and nurses from Broughton, Valdese, and Grace Hospitals, as well as Burke County EMS personnel. ACWM, the course sponsor, is a regional non-profit founded in 2007 in Burke County. The group’s mission is to increase wilderness medical training and improve wilderness medical practice in southern Appalachia.