News Release - 11/9/07
For Immediate Release
USRider Teams with EKU to Offer
Animal Rescue Training
Lexington, Ky. (Nov. 9, 2007) – USRider
and Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) are partnering to offer
large-animal emergency rescue training for the fourth consecutive
year. As with last year’s training, specially trained
demonstration animals – horses and a llama – are
being brought in to help provide realistic hands-on training
during the seminars.
Two Technical Large-Animal Rescue training
seminars are to be held next spring. Scheduled for April 18-20,
2008, the first seminar is reserved for EKU students. The
second seminar, April 22-24, 2008, is open to the public,
with emphasis on recruiting fire and EMT responders, veterinarians
and others. The training is being funded through the Large-Animal
Rescue Endowment Fund, administered by USRider.
The training will educate fire/rescue personnel,
first responders, veterinarians and horse enthusiasts about
techniques and procedures to assist large animals involved
in transportation accidents and other emergencies. Instruction
will cover the use of sedatives and tranquilizers, chemical
restraint, rescue ropes and knots, rescue from horse barn
fires, mud rescue, helicopter rescue and water rescue, among
other situations. The training, which consists of 30 hours
of classroom instruction and hands-on training, qualifies
each student to receive FSE 489 credit for the class.
The training will also include a separate
session on HAZMAT Decontamination of Large Animals. Scheduled
for the morning of April 25, this free session will cover
the issues related to rescuing large animals that have encountered
chemical, biological or radiological contamination. Local
and state emergency preparedness officials are encouraged
to attend. Interested parties should contact EKU so accommodations
can be made.
USRider offers a nationwide roadside assistance
program designed especially for equestrians. Since its establishment
in January 2002, the company has endeavored to raise awareness
of the need for training in large-animal emergency rescue.
“We’ve found that while emergency
responders are trained experts in human rescue and extrication,
they usually have no training in large-animal rescue,”
said Mark Cole, managing member of the USRider Equestrian
Motor Plan. “Because of this lack of training, responders
are being put at great risk. Moreover, in many accidents and
disasters, animals without life-threatening injuries are being
injured further or even killed by use of incorrect rescue
techniques.”
Through its Leg-Up Fund, USRider has provided
backing for numerous large-animal rescue initiatives, from
equine ambulances to individual responder training. In 2005,
the company took its efforts in a new direction by creating
the first-of-its-kind Large-Animal Rescue Endowment Fund at
Eastern Kentucky University. The endowment fund was established
to promote large-animal-rescue training efforts and support
related training programs.
Eastern Kentucky University has established
an annual Large Animal Rescue training program that provides
training to the students within the Fire and Safety Engineering
Technology program. The Fire and Safety Engineering Technology
Program was established in 1975 and is one of only a few programs
in the country which offers undergraduate degrees in fire
and safety. Areas of study include life safety; fire prevention,
suppression and investigation; fire service administration;
fire protection principles; industrial loss prevention; safety
program management; and occupational safety and health.
The Large Animal Rescue training within the
Fire and Safety Engineering Technology program provides the
students the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills
required to become proficient in the rescue of large animals.
The program is provided to the students as part of their college
curriculum requirements. To-date, approximately 100 undergraduate
students have successfully completed this program.
“We are very glad to continue our partnership
with EKU through their College of Justice and Safety,”
said Cole, “especially since the university is located
in central Kentucky – an area that is commonly referred
to as the horse capital of the world.”
Due to the hands-on nature of the training,
each large-animal emergency rescue seminar is limited to 30
participants. Be sure to call and reserve your space today.
For more information on the seminars and to register, call
the EKU Loss Prevention and Safety Department at (859) 622-1009.
Contributions to the Large-Animal Rescue Endowment
Fund may be sent to the Division of University Development,
CPO 19A, Jones 324, Eastern Kentucky University, 521 Lancaster
Ave., Richmond, Ky., 40475-3102. The Development office may
be reached at (859) 622-1583.
USRider Equestrian Motor Plan is a nationwide
member-based organization providing roadside trailering assistance,
including towing and roadside repairs for tow vehicles and
trailers with horses, emergency stabling, veterinary referrals
and more. For more information, visit www.usrider.org or call
1-800-844-1409.
Images for this story are available at the
following link:
http://www.lexingtongraphics.com/eku_11_07
GO BACK
|
