Books on First Aid and Risk Management
Adventure Management Systems® - Organizational Crisis Response
The Organizational Crisis Response system is based on years of “lessons learned” from organizations who have dealt with serious incidents. This operational risk management system is designed to prepare Adventure Education programs to effectively respond and resolve Critical or Catastrophic Incidents in a rapid and sustainable manner. Organized into one package is the Organizational Crisis Response Folder that contains a series of forms that outline a comprehensive set of questions that need to be asked during a crisis, the Organizational Crisis Response book that outlines how to integrate the system into your organization, and a CD-ROM containing electronic copies of response forms and documentation that can be modified to your specific needs.
Available online at www.adventuremanagement.com
Adventure Management Systems® - Organizational Crisis Response
“An operational risk management system designed to prepare Adventure Education programs to effectively respond and resolve Critical or Catastrophic Incidents in a sustainable manner.”
Every organization hopes that they will be able to effectively respond to a critical or catastrophic incident, but “hope” alone, is not a strategy. The nature of our work increases the likelihood that we will eventually face a Critical or Catastrophic incident. Most organizations understand this and take steps to provide their field staff with appropriate skills, support and resources. The question then becomes: Does the administration know what to do when an instructional staff calls in to report a critical or catastrophic incident? Have you adequately trained your office staff to deal with that phone call? What about the phone call with the media, with the parents, with the attorneys? One of the hard lessons that we have learned over the last 30 years is that while critical or catastrophic incidents are usually instigated in the field, it is the administrative response to the incident that most often leads to crisis escalation. This typically happens simply because the administration assumed that it would never happen to them, or they would figure it out when the time came. The Organizational Crisis Response system is based on years of “lessons learned” from organizations who have dealt with serious incidents. Understanding that our industry faces ongoing staff turnover the system is designed to be implemented quickly and efficiently. If you have ever wondered if your program would be able to effectively handle a critical or catastrophic incident, this system is for you.
System Includes:
- The Adventure Management Systems® – Organizational Crisis Response book. This book clearly explains how to use the system, including specific strategies for speaking to:
- The media
- The parents
- The staff
- The Critical Incident Response Folder - Which provides examples of documents that have been used in the successful management and de-escalation of both Critical and Catastrophic incidents. It includes copies of:
- Media Response Notes
- Media Contact Sheet
- Incident Report Form – Field
- Incident Report Form – Administration
- Emergency Call Guide – Field
- Emergency Call Guide – Administration
- Emergency Action Plan – Vehicle (Water)
- Emergency Action Plan – Vehicle (Air)
- Emergency Action Plan – Vehicle (Land)
- Emergency Action Plan – Physical Restraint
- Emergency Action Plan – Medical
- Emergency Action Plan – Lost or Missing
- Emergency Action Plan – Fire
- Emergency Action Plan – Death
- A CD-Rom with electronic copies of all of forms so they can be modified for your specific application.
NOLS
Risk Management for Outdoor Leaders:
A Practical Guide for Managing Risk Through Leadership
by Drew Leemon & Tod Schimelpfenig
“Risk Management for Outdoor Leaders represents decades of experiences by two thoughtful and dedicated professionals who have made risk management in the out-of-doors one of their most important responsibilities.”
- Dan Garvey, President, Prescott College September 2005
What causes accidents in the backcountry? It’s people, both individuals and groups, who contribute to most accidents, according to a new book released by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
In Risk Management for Outdoor Leaders, long-time wilderness educators and risk management experts Drew Leemon and Tod Schimelpfenig explore how people’s actions in the backcountry can have fatal consequences. The authors cite numerous incidents in fields ranging from aviation to mountaineering and medicine that reveal this “human factor.” They illustrate how poor teamwork, miss-communication, complacency, lack of situational awareness and poor decisions contribute and cause risk management incidents. Their conclusion is that the same behaviors and habits – failures in leadership, teamwork and communication — are involved in every incident in outdoor education.
In this book, you’ll learn from the experts. Leemon is NOLS’ risk management director and Schimelpfenig is curriculum director for the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS (WMI). Topics cover how to plan for an expedition, build effective teams, sharpen your attitude, behaviors and habits, avoid decision-making traps, and apply risk-management procedures in the field. The appendices include case studies illustrating the book’s concepts. If you work with groups in the outdoors, you can’t afford not to read this book.
Published by the National Outdoor Leadership School Cost: $39.95
Available online at www.nols.edu
National Outdoor Leadership School 284 Lincoln St. • Lander, WY 82520 • 800-710-NOLS • www.nols.edu
Lessons Learned II: A Guide to Accident Prevention & Crisis Response
by - Deb Ajango
Chapter One
Adam’s Story
By Kay Landis, with assistance from Phil Dzialo
Chapter One is a case study of a 1998 near-drowning incident involving 12-year-old Adam Dzialo. The account includes pre- and post-incident actions along with the perspective of the boy’s parents on the years that stretched between the original accident and a final settlement with the state of Massachusetts. The information is intended to help readers understand the effects that a serious accident and post-incident response can have on family members and loved ones. It also offers a good example of how different audiences can have different understandings of such concepts as negligence and inherent risk.
Chapter Two
Chuck’s Story
By Deb Ajango, with assistance from Chuck Bonning
Chapter Two follows Chuck Bonning from the summit of Mount McKinley through a harrowing descent, high-altitude bivouac, and helicopter rescue to the hospital where he was treated for extensive frostbite. Chuck and his wife provide survivors’ insights into what it took to endure and, ultimately, find meaning in the experience. Throughout the narrative, they also reflect on what went wrong and what went right before, during, and after the storm that changed their lives.
Chapter Three
Risk Management Planning: A Closer Look
By Deb Ajango
Chapter Three provides an assessment of the risk management strategies used by the programs involved in Chapter One and Chapter Two. By comparing Greenfield Community College’s and Alaska Denali Guiding’s operating procedures to the 10 components of a risk management system, the author is able to identify some of the less obvious aspects of risk management, including mistakes that service providers sometimes make.
Chapter Four
Creating a Workable Emergency Action Plan
By Deb Ajango
Chapter Four examines the key components of an emergency action plan (EAP), from the philosophical concepts that will be used to drive the plan to the detailed steps included in its implementation. By using a variety of case studies—starting with the University of Alaska Anchorage’s response following a 1997 mountaineering accident—the author not only identifies measures unique to a quality EAP, but she also offers ideas on why seemingly well-crafted EAPs sometimes fail.
Chapter Five
In the Path of the Ripple: The Effects of a Tragedy on a Program’s Employees
By Deb Ajango
Chapter Five includes accounts and insights from trip leaders and program managers who have lived through serious program-related incidents involving participants. Starting with Kate Douglas’s experience at Greenfield Community College, the chapter outlines some of the many challenging, frustrating, surprising, and healing aspects of their experiences.
Chapter Six
Managing the Risks of a Lawsuit
By Charles “Reb” Gregg
Chapter Six examines risk management from a legal perspective. By using the Chapter One and Chapter Two case studies as teaching points, the author describes a variety of pre-trip preparations, in-the-field actions, and post-incident responses that affect the outfitter-participant relationship and can either increase or decrease an outfitter’s exposure to the risk of a lawsuit.
Chapter Seven
Understanding “How Accidents Happen” in Outdoor Pursuits
By Drew Leemon
Chapter Seven explores the current state of thinking on how accidents happen in outdoor adventure activities. The author explains several methods for analyzing outdoor accidents and uses real case studies to demonstrate the practical application of these methods.
Chapter Eight
The Loss of Leadership in the Outdoor Industry
By Blaine Smith
Chapter Eight identifies how the outdoor industry has changed over the past two decades and offers insights into how this transformation has created significant challenges for field staff and program managers. While the author acknowledges that some of the current trends seem to be working against the industry, he ends the chapter by offering a number of ideas for enhancing the quality and professionalism of today's aspiring leaders.
Chapter Nine
The Role of Perception, Genes, and Culture on Risky Behaviors
By Jerry Dzugan
Chapter Nine takes a look at the roots of risky behavior and addresses the question: Are potentially unsafe actions the result of ignorance, experience, or genetics? The second half of the chapter is used to give readers ideas on how program managers and industry leaders can modify an organization’s potentially unsafe behaviors.
The book will be available for purchase starting mid-October. It will be on sale at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference, Oct 27-29, in Snowbird,Utah and the Association for Experiential Education conference, November 3-6, in Tucson, Arizona.
To order contact Deb at debajango@att.net. The book will cost $22.00 for orders up to nine and cost $15.00 for orders of 10 or more. There will be a postage and handling fee of $3.00 each book (up to nine) and $2.00 per book for orders of 10 or more.
Deb Ajango is the owner and director of SafetyEd: Safety Education for Outdoor and Remote Work Environments. In her work with SafetyEd, Deb has provided consultation as well as conducted safety audits around the United States and overseas. She has spent more than 15 years working in outdoor education and has more than 2,000 days of field experience. Deb has presented at a variety of national symposiums and conferences. From 1997 to 2003, she was coordinator of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s academic outdoor education department. She is currently a member of the Association for Experiential Education’s Accreditation Council and is one of the coeditors of the 2005 Manual of Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs. Deb is also editor and coauthor of Lessons Learned: A Guide to Accident Prevention and Crisis Response. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, both from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
