International Disaster and Austere Medicine Conference

Organized by Mammoth Medical Missions, IDAMC is the only such course in the U.S. that trains the entire team — physicians and nurses as well as first responders, community leaders and logistical support staff — on cadavers. In this 5-day course, we review mass casualty/disaster epidemiology, triage protocols, Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), field hospital construction, communications and deployment logistics, as well as review the medical response to specific disasters that have occurred in recent years. The goal is to enhance readiness for fast-deployed medical and community response to widespread environmental disaster or other mass casualty incidents. This is a CME eligible activity for medical professionals, however lay-people are also encouraged to participate, and will gain useful knowledge for any austere or disaster situation.

The keynote speaker for this year's conference is Dr. Geoffrey Tabin. He is an accomplished climber and mountaineer and practices Ophthalmology at the Redstone Health Center, Moran Eye center in Clinic, Park City, Utah. Dr. Tabin is the co-founder of the Himalayan Cataract Project and co-leads the International Division of the John A. Moran Eye Center as part of his vision to provide high quality ophthalmic care, education, and establishment of a world-class eye care infrastructure.

At the end of the course, participants are subjected to a simulated disaster scenario — along the lines of what MMM’s team experienced in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Central Philippines. Scenario includes mass casualty/field triage pressure exercises with distracting loud sounds, smoke, limited resources, and multiple major casualty patients.