Trails Momentum, a wilderness therapy program for young adults, is beginning to offer Wilderness First Aid training for all students. After completion of this training, students receive wilderness first aid certification. Trails Momentum is collaborating with the Red Cross to facilitate these trainings.

Todd Ransdell, Trails Momentum Program Director, states, “In our efforts to continue to build skills and confidence in the young adults we serve, we are now adding wilderness first aid training for all of our students.” 

Wilderness First Aid training teaches advanced skills to prepare students for emergencies. 

Examples of topics that are included in this training include, but are not limited to wounds and wound infection, burns, altitude-related illnesses, hypothermia, and heal-related emergencies. 

“We often think about first aid as being useful for helping others,” says Ruby Compton, Wilderness First Aid trainer. “More importantly, in my opinion, is the knowledge it gives to participants for how to keep themselves safe and respond to their own needs. It is empowering to know that if something doesn’t go as planned, you have a toolkit of options for how to problem solve the situation. Every emergency is unique and I think any first aid certification does a good job of teaching effective patient assessment. The course teaches participants to ask lots of questions and, then, to use the data and their own observations to make smart decisions.”

Trails Momentum offers life skills training for their students to set them up to be successful and independent. For students who have struggled to launch into adulthood successfully, gaining life skills such as first aid response helps build confidence. Momentum helps students learn personal responsibility and gain the tools needed to thrive in young adulthood. 

Trails Momentum

Trails Momentum is an adventure-based outdoor program for young adults ages 18-25 who are struggling to launch themselves into adulthood. Students are guided on a journey of self-discovery where they develop self-concept and are empowered to make the transition into independence. Adventure programming, clinical services, family involvement, college coursework, and social skill development are seamlessly interwoven to maximize the transference of important life skills and address clinical and behavioral challenges.  For more information about Trails Momentum, please call (828) 457-8840 or visit https://trailsmomentum.com/.