This month, unique mix of people came together in Gold Beach. Mountain bike coaches, outdoor guides, agency staffers, lifeguards, and local citizens who love spending time outside all gathered for the start of a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Wilderness First Aid and CPR course, hosted at the Curry Public Library.
Sixteen students joined in for this two-day intensive, designed specifically for folks who may find themselves far from hospitals or quick-response EMS. This course teaches how to provide critical first aid in those remote, often rugged places where many of us work, play, or guide others.
Over the weekend, the group dove into everything from CPR basics to more advanced wilderness-specific first aid. Outside the classroom, participants rotated between hands-on outdoor scenarios addressing potential situations like campfire burns, frostbite, drowning rescues, cuts, bruises, heart attacks, broken bones.
These are the kinds of real-world emergencies that can happen in the backcountry, or even close to home. The Oregon Coast Visitors Association is proud to support this training because we know that outdoor adventure is what draws visitor and locals to the coast. The more prepared our guides, first responders, and outdoor community are, the better equipped we all are to support visitors and locals alike, and to help ensure their time on the Oregon Coast is memorable, and safe.
Special thanks to Curry County Aquatic Safety Officer Luke Martinez for helping coordinate this important training!
We strongly encourage anyone who recreates, guides, or works outdoors to consider getting CPR and first aid certified. You never know what you might encounter on a favorite trail or remote stretch of coastline—and having the knowledge to help can make all the difference.