COTR First aid team wins at competition

Richard Marchand captains College of the Rockies’ first aid team to win.

College of the Rockies’ first aid team, consisting of Richard Marchand, Lee Jesse, Gale Brownlee and Aileen Boyd, took the prize as top team at the 21st Invitational Canadian Society of Safety Engineering First Aid Competition in Kamloops on September 15.

The recently revived competition, co-sponsored by WorksafeBC, saw competitors from Vancouver, Kamloops, Vancouver Island and the Kootenays taking part. The College of the Rockies team beat out five other groups to take top spot.

Team captain, Richard Marchand said, “The competition required each team to demonstrate competency in diagnosing and treating a variety of patients in three different scenarios. Good communication between the team members was also a part of the evaluation.”

All team members, with the exception of Aileen Boyd who is relocating to Lacombe, Alberta, are first aid instructors at College of the Rockies, teaching a wide-variety of courses from CPR to Occupational First Aid.  In the past 15 years, more than 19,000 students have taken Occupational First Aid Levels 1, 2 or 3 at the College.  Most College of the Rockies first aid instructors also have practical experience in heavy industry.

College of the Rockies continuing education programmer, Danette Polzin, said, “We are so proud of our team of instructors. It’s great to see their skills being recognized in a provincial competition.”

For more information about College of the Rockies first aid training, contact Continuing Education at 250-489-8242 or go to cotr.bc.ca