Public safety continues one of my top priorities, and I have so much respect for the individuals that keep our communities safe; that respond in case of an emergency. Most likely, at some point, either you or someone you know has been helped or life saved by the heroic actions of a first-responder. We rely on their life-saving training, and I am grateful for their dedication to assisting Hoosiers in need.
Anyone who works in public safety will tell you that training, running drills and preparation can save lives. The more training our first-responder receive, the better they will be able to handle any situation they come across.
Last May, I joined representative Ron Bacon and traveled to Texas to observe three out of the eight days of the Basic Tactical Operation Medical Support Course, hosted by the Cypress Creek Tactical Medic Team in Houston. This international course taught a variety of different training techniques, and we learned all about tactical operation medical support.
The course was geared towards public safety officers and taught them how to respond to active shooter situations, mass casualty situations, meth lab explosions and more. After attending this course, I decided that along with House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1111, which passed last year and dealt with tactical emergency medicine, that further training would be beneficial to first responders in our communities.
House Bill 1197 works in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and would require them to develop core curriculum requirements and standards for tactical emergency casualty care training programs. This type of training would be designed for first-responders like fire-fighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians and would educate them to better handle a broader range of emergency circumstances.
What these brave men and women see on the job is something I could not imagine, and I am thankful for their actions that work to keep our communities safe. We rely on the efficiency and effectiveness of our public safety officers every day, especially during the winter when car accidents are prevalent and emergency situations happen more frequently.
I am proud to be part of a community which houses some of the best and brightest first responders. My hope, with the passage of this bill, is that we incorporate training that would allow them to be better prepared for more situations, which could potential save someone’s life.
