EMS & Injury Prevention System Branch

Increasing Our Region’s Injury Prevention Capacity

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At the Maui EMS Training Center, we have been working to increase our region’s injury prevention capacity, in particular through presenting the Hawaii Injury Prevention for Emergency Services curriculum to new EMS students and existing EMT and MICT (paramedic) providers. This includes a 2013 cohort of EMT students and a 2014-15 cohort of MICT students. In addition, we continuously seek opportunities for community outreach and collaboration.

One of our recent EMT graduates, Maren Anka, subsequently continued her involvement in the intersection of injury prevention and EMS by creating a dive emergency worksheet for use by captains and crew of dive and snorkel boats in Maui. Injuries from these activities have been a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Maui. Early recognition, first-aid, activation of Coast Guard Station Maui and the new Maalaea Special Response paramedic, are key to optimizing victims’ chances of survival. Maren sought extensive input from Maui County dive professionals, Coast Guard responders, EMS faculty, EMS administrators, and others. She is currently piloting the worksheet with one busy dive company, with plans for additional evaluation, revision, and subsequent replication / dissemination.

In addition to providing some mentorship to EMS students and/or providers such as Maren, IPAC member and Steering Committee David Kingdon also advises Maui’s Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC), trying to stimulate primary prevention of injuries such as the disturbing number of drowning incidents at Maui’s notorious “Black Rock.” Just days ago, some political hurdles were cleared enough to allow a PSA at the Kahului Airport, but other barriers remain.

David is also thrilled to be a founding member of the Maui Bicycling League (MBL), which is led by the passionate and highly qualified Maui resident and businesswoman Saman Dias. MBL is the first-ever chapter of the Hawaii Bicycling League outside of Oahu, and its steering committee and membership have already been omnipresent and vigilant in county and statewide advocacy for improving the quality of the built environment, and promoting safe communities for pedestrians and cyclists.

We will keep working to address these and other injury prevention issues on Maui, and welcome support and collaboration from across the state.

David Kingdon, MPH -Assistant Professor of EMS (UH/KCC)