SUU Risk Management for Outdoor Endeavors
Best practices for going an hour beyond definitive medical care
SUU is the “outdoorsiest” school in the nation. Through the Outdoor Nation Challenge we’ve shown that our students, faculty, and staff go outdoors to learn, grow, and pursue healthy and purposeful lives. The purpose of this webpage is to give those who go an hour beyond definitive healthcare a risk management process and toolkit to adventure responsibly managing for safety.
Disclaimer: This is not intended to be all inclusive or to make you safe. It is meant to be a resource and a guide based on best practices to be prepared to lead students into the field.
Preparation
Planning ahead and preparing can save time, money, lives, and lead to more learning and enjoyment. Pre-Trip preparation is also essential to being able to efficiently deal with incidents if (when) they occur. The forms below guide you through a step by step process to prepare for your excursion.
Health History Forms (HHF) are documents containing a person's medical history. The Health History Form provides critical information for trip leaders about health issues a participant may have (e.g. diabetes, history of seizures, PTSD, asthma, heart disease...). Each person attending the outing (including leaders) should complete a Health History Form and the forms should accompany the Trip Leaders throughout the outing. Trip Leaders ought to take time before the trip to review each form for completeness and to gain an understanding of their participants health history. If you have questions or concerns about any of the information from a participant's HHF, address it with the participant before the trip; note that not every would-be participant is suited for every trip and it may be appropriate to suggest a person not join your outing, this decision ought to be based on the overall well being and safety of the individual as well as the groups needs. HHFs often provide trip leaders with vulnerable information about their participants and discussing these unique circumstances should be done privately and with tact and concern for the participant's well being. The HHF should not be discussed openly with others nor should you allow participants access to anyone's form but their own. Once the outing is over each HHF should be shredded or returned to the participants.
Print enough Health History Forms from the link below for each person on your trip and have them fill them out. Review the completed forms, if you need further clarification on a medical issue discuss it with the participant privately before the outing. Be sure the completed forms accompany you or a co-leader for the duration of your outing.
As the outing leader, you'll need each of your participants to complete an SUU waiver. This helps protect you (and Southern Utah University) from legal liability should either (or both) be listed as a defendant in future lawsuits. Utah courts have consistently upheld waivers for recreational, educational, and athletic outings similar to those many of you will be facilitating, even when there was clear evidence of negligence by the defendants. Waivers need to be filled out completely and kept on record for several years beyond the date of the outing, even if no significant incident occurred. Many legal advisers recommend keeping waivers at least seven years due to statutes of limitation laws. So get a box and let them collect dust in a closet, or scan them and have pdf versions stored securely in digital format.
Below are links for two versions of SUU waivers, if you're using university vehicles for your outing you'll only need to have participants complete the first one. If participants car pool as part of your outing, you'll also need them to complete the second. As a side note on transportation, if you drive your personal vehicle as part of the outing, even if it's directly related to your job, you are NOT covered by the university insurance policies. All liabilities and coverage are yours to bear if an incident occurs. Therefore, it's in your best interest to protect yourself and avoid using your own vehicle for University related outings of any kind.
Print one or both of the waivers linked below for every person attending your outing. Review each waiver to assure each section needing initialed is complete and that the bottom portion is signed and dated, when a participant is a minor a witness must also sign the waiver. Store the completed waivers for a very long time (minimum of 7 years), even if an incident hasn't occurred.
The Risk Assessment (RA) will help you identify the likely risks associated with your outing and some of the tools you will have available to deal with them should they arise. Take time with your co-leaders (and participants when appropriate) to thoroughly work through the form. The more in-depth you go the more prepared (or scared) you will likely be for the outing, but having more insight is likely preferable to having too little. Some factors determining how in-depth to go with the RA include remoteness of the location, experience and preparation levels of the participants and leaders, medical training within the group, medical issues among the group, the type of activity(s), the duration of the outing, the size of the group, the environment/terrain, and the weather. The link below provides a simple RA process and form to get you started.
- Arches National Park
- Basin and Range
- Bears Ears National Monument
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Cedar Breaks National Monument
- Death Valley National Park
- Dinosaur National Monument
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Gold Butte National Monument
- Golden Spike National Historic Site
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
- Great Basin National Park
- Hovenweep National Monument
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Monument Valley
- Natural Bridges National Monument
- Pipe Spring National Monument
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument
- Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
- Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
- Wupatki National Monument
- Zion National Park
Among outdoor professionals and enthusiasts, a commonly accepted list of 10 essential items has been developed to help people deal with some of the more probable incidents that can occur. As the outing leader you'll want to have these 10 essentials with you in the field. Outing participants should also have the 10 essentials for any outing beyond the 1 hour time frame for receiving definitive medical care if an incident occurs. Lists for car camping and backpacking are included if needed.
Get your 10 Essentials together and take them with you during your outing. Encourage each participant to get the 10 essentials as well and to bring them on your outing. The link below contains a list of the 10 essentials.
First Aid
At least one person per outing should be trained in first aid and CPR and a first aid kit suitable to the activity and remoteness of the location should accompany your group into the field. First aid kits can be checked out for free from SUU Outdoors, reservations are accepted and the contents are replenished prior to each trip. A good first aid kit is only a supplement to knowledge and skills in first aid.
If your outings take you beyond an hour from definite medical care (and most do), you may consider taking Wilderness First Aid (WFA). The WFA is often 24 hours over 3 days and prepares you to deal with longer patient treatment times with limited resources and more complex evacuations. SUU's Outdoor Recreation in Parks & Tourism (ORPT) program offers a WFA course every President's weekend at the SUU Mountain Center.
For inquiries about the WFA contact jacobmanning@suu.edu
Incident Management
Things to consider before you go about managing incidents in the field
When going into the backcountry with students, know serious injuries and death are rare (Welch, 2012). Yet, you want to be prepared to care for your students if needed. Beyond prevention, be ready to:
- Provide Care to the Injured based on your training
- Know when and how to seek help
- Decide if an Evacuation is needed, use your Risk Management & Trip Form to make a plan
- Communicate from the field
If you are part of an SUU organized outing, call SUU’s dispatch (435-586-1911) to tie you into SUU’s Risk Management Response Team.
Post Incident Follow Up
If you have an incident (or a near miss) in the field, please follow up with SUU’s Risk Management Office when you return.