By STEPHANIE ECKROAT
Ellis & Trego Farm Bureau County Coordinator

The Ellis County Farm Bureau and the Ellis County Emergency Management Services teamed up on Sat., April 27 to hold a Farm Rescue and Extraction Training at the Kansas State University Research Center.

Despite a few emergency calls thought out the day, the event was well attended by emergency personnel from the area.

Don Hauschild, RN, MICT presented “Deadly Harvest”, a program centering around the dangerous results of farm accidents. Hauschild has over 30 years of experience in the emergency medical field beginning his career as a medic in the military. Currently he is employed with Ascension-Via Christi Hospital as a patient follow-up nurse for the emergency rooms in the Wichita area.

Dr. David Fitzhugh, Associate Professor, Fort Hays State University, spoke to the group about the dangers of farm chemical exposure. His presentation highlighted the dangers, responses and treatments as a result of exposure to anhydrous and organophosphates.

Karin Rasmussen, Kansas AgrAbilty Project, talked about options for disabled farmers and ranchers that have been physically challenged as a result of accidents that happen on the farm.

The afternoon session included volunteer victim simulating real life accidents on the farm. The actors were volunteers from the Collegiate Farm Bureau Club and the Radiology Department from Fort Hays State University as well as the Nursing Program of North Central Kansas Technical College.

Emergency personnel were given various scenarios and required to work together as a team to solve the problem and treat the patients.

The hands-on opportunity to work on real farm equipment was very valuable as many of the personnel have not had experience dealing with farm implements. The equipment for the scenarios were provided by local implement dealers.

Various other businesses in the Ellis County area contributed to the event.