Certified assistants in emergencies
Palmdale High juniors finish training in CERT course
PALMDALE — Ninety-four Palmdale High School juniors conducted their final drills Tuesday for their CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) certification.
The morning session had 50 students wearing fluorescent yellow or orange vests move the wounded from the classroom outside to a staging area with green, yellow, red and black tarps on the ground. The colored tarps are used for triage in a mass casualty event to categorize victims. Green is used for victims with minor injuries; yellow is used for delayed victims; red is used for victims with immediate, or life-threatening injuries; and black is used for deceased victims.
Victims were reassessed every five minutes for their physical injuries and mental status. Some victims were downgraded and others
were upgraded.
Palmdale High seniors who completed their CERT certification last year served as the victims. They wore colored tags that coordinated with the color of the tarps. Students who had a star on
the back of their tag could go unconscious and die.
CERT training takes 24 hours. Classes typically run eight hours a day over three successive Saturdays. Anyone who goes through CERT training is required to complete
the drill. The students did their training a couple of hours a day over two weeks. They will be certified as adults after they pass the tests.
“The CERT and the fire department assessed the value of knowledge that our
kids have and they said. ‘Oh, they are far more prepared than most adults,’ ” said teacher Angela Hefter, who also serves as adviser of the Health Careers Academy. “Hopefully, these kids will
understand the importance of giving back to their community, being prepared and helping out wherever they possibly can.”
Students organized the event. They completed a week of preparation. They chose their teams. They chose their incident commanders, who wore blue vests, covering medical and search and rescue. They chose their team leaders.
“The whole thing is teamwork,” Hefter said. “Communication is the biggest one.”
Last week the students completed their fire extinguisher and cribbing certifications. Each victim had a number to keep track of them to ensure none were lost. There were 31 total victims: nine deceased; six red, or immediate; 11 yellow, or delayed; and five green. Some were indoors and some were outdoors, so the students had to keep track of all victims. Organization and communication is crucial.
Senior Juan Del Rio portrayed a victim who was tagged red initially but later died. He was assessed by junior Ashley Martinez.
“I think it’s important to have the special skills just in case of an emergency,” Del Rio said. “It’s just good to know.”
Martinez already learned CPR.
“I think it will really help in the future to help the community out,” she said. “I’m learning a lot.”
Junior Estelle Dela Cruz served as incident commander for search and rescue.
“As much as I wanted to help carry patients, I feel like this is the spot where I could benefit the most and help the most,” she said.
Dela Cruz added that she learned a lot and how to help the community.
“If this happened in my own home, I can confidently say that I can do this and I’m learning the basics of just how to get patients out,” she said. “The organization and the communication is definitely the hardest part.”
Senior Mya Zurita went from yellow to red.
“I had two fractured legs, and then they took too long to assess, so I had to get worse,” she said.
Zurita certified in CERT last year.
“I think the only mistake
that I saw was people stepping over patients,” she said.
Among the good things she observed was the juniors’ vigilance and presence.
“They knew what they were doing,” she said.
Junior Benjaman Cisneros thought he did pretty good. He helped transport victims.
“It was chaotic,” he said. “We can’t stop and take a break.”
He added that he will be happy to have the CERT certification.