AHLS – Advanced Hazmat Life Support

The Advanced Hazmat Life Support (AHLS) Provider Course teaches comprehensive knowledge in the medical management of patients exposed to hazardous materials. The focus is on systematic response for the medical management on chemical incidents (incl. nerve agents). Incidents with exposure to biological and radiological events are also addressed.

The two-day AHLS Provider Course is the most comprehensive medical training program, teaching critical know-how needed to evaluate and treat victims exposed to chemical spills, toxic terrorism, and other threats.

Learning objectives:

• Principle approach to HAZMAT-events
• Self- and partner protection
• Hazardous substance assessment
• Systematic patient assessment
• Toxidromes
• Poisoning treatment paradigm, including specific antidotes

Target audience:

• Emergency physicians, prehospital emergency physicians, paramedics
• Emergency department nurses
• Toxicologists, pharmacologists and pharmacists
• Occupational health physicians
• NBC-specialist firefighters and army staff
• Military physicians and civil protection staff

Course-Director:
Prof. Dr. med. Mathias Zürcher (Anesthesiology, Intensive care Medicine, pre-hospital emergency physician); Head Swiss Center für Rescue, Emergency and Disaster Medicine (SCRED); coordinator SFG (Sanitätsdienstliche Führung Grossereignis), Consultant,
Anesthesiology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland

Course-Faculty (alphabetical):
The AHLS faculty experts listed below represent our core expertise. The effective participation of faculty members in each course may vary depending on the size of the course and the number of participants, and will be published in the syllabus approximately four weeks before the start of the course.

Dr. med. Colette Degrandi, (clinical toxicology); Senior Physician, Tox Info Suisse

Petra Emmerich, Program manager Notfallpflege HF NDS, EMP, Z-INA University of Applied Sciences, Zurich

Sven Hoffmann, Program manager DAS Work+Health, University Zurich & Universiy Lausanne, Switzerland

Dr. med. Hugo Kupferschmidt (clinical pharmacology & toxicology); retired head of the Poisons Centre, Charité – Berline

Prof. Dr. med. Anne Leuppi-Taegtmeyer clinical pharmacology & toxicology); Head Patient safety office, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland

Michael Müller (Dipl. Anesthesia Care Expert NDS HF and Emergency Technician NDS HF, Head of education & training, Rettung St. Gallen

Dr. med. David Schurter (Anesthesioloy; pre-hospital emergency physician), Schulthess Klinik, Zürich & emergency physician Rega

Frank G. Walter, MD, FACEP, FACMT, FAACT clinical pharmacology & toxicology; Consultant Poison Center University of Arizona); Editor, Advanced Hazmat Life Support (AHLS), Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center, College of Medicine, University of Arizona; Tucson, US

Organization:
The course is organized by the Swiss Center for Rescue, Emergency and Disaster Medicine (SCRED- SZRNK) in cooperation with SFG and in collaboration with Tox Info Suisse, Zurich and the Spiez Laboratory, Federal Office for Civil Protection, Switzerland

Course materials and preparation:
Course preparation through the AHLS Provider Manual (currently only available online) guided by the “pre-test.”
The AHLS Provider Manual comprises approximately 500 pages and is in English. You will receive the access key for the manual as an online download approximately 4 weeks before the event. Allow for 20-30 hours of preparation time.

Course fees:
The course fees of CHF 1,100 include: license for the online course book, course materials, lunch and snacks during the course, international AHLS registration and the AHLS certificate. Travel and accommodation are not included in the course fees. These must be arranged individually and are not part of the course package.

Administrative information:
Course registration must be completed online. An email address, accessibly during the course must be provided. Course cancellations must be made in writing, and costs will be incurred in accordance with the General Terms and Conditions (GTC).

Certificate:
Training for interdisciplinary healthcare professionals to care for patients exposed to hazardous materials and dangerous goods. Join the worldwide community of nearly 22,000 healthcare professionals from 84 countries and become a verified AHLS Provider, prepared to face the medical challenges of hazmat incidents.

Credits:
SFG/CSAM: Kat. I = 2; Kat. III = 28; SSCPT: 16; SGARM: 14; SGNOR: 16; SSAPM: 16; SGC: 6; SGI: 16
Course participants will be registered with the international AHLS-Provider-database.
The AHLS certificate is internationally approved and recognized.

Swiss Center for Rescue, Emergency and Disaster Medicine (SCRED)
T +41 (0)61 265 89 11