A man is recovering from a significant leg injury and hypothermia after a back country avalanche near a Vancouver Island ski hill Sunday.
North Shore Rescue and Campbell River Search And Rescue combined for the mutual aid medical call on Sunday, Feb. 2 near Mt. Cain on northern Vancouver Island.
"An individual had been caught in an avalanche and partially buried," stated NSR in a news release published on its social media page. "He suffered multiple injuries, including a significant leg injury, and was hypothermic."
NSR noted that volunteers from the Mount Cain community made their way to the injured person on the ground, while their crews responded with Talon Helicopters and night vision goggles.
"The crew included helicopter rescue techs and one of our advanced medical providers (an ER physician) with advanced medical gear," stated NSR. "Cloud conditions were difficult, but the helicopter was able to find a path into the Mt. Cain area and land at their base shortly after the Cain volunteers had brought the subject out of the field."
The man received treatment at the scene and then in the helicopter.
"Given his condition, the decision was made to fly directly to the Vancouver General Hospital rooftop helipad for immediate access to their trauma care and surgeons," confirmed NSR in its post. "BCEHS paramedics and other medical personnel met the helicopter team at the VGH pad and provided excellent care to the subject as he was brought into VGH for further treatment and surgery."
According to the NSR's post, this was the first time they have been able to fly a critically injured person directly to the helicopter landing pad at Vancouver General Hospital.
"We have recently been granted the ability to do so for 'life or limb' type situations, where access to advanced medical care is time critical for patient outcomes," noted the NSR. "A huge thanks to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, VGH, and BCEHS paramedics for making it possible.
"This initiative has the potential to save lives in the years to come."
NSR concluded its social media post by stating the rescue "would not have occurred without the significant efforts of individuals all along the chain of survival, including: the two bystanders (who were able to provide assistance to the subject on-site), Campbell River SAR and Mt. Cain community volunteers (who were able to reach and extract the seriously injured subject in very difficult conditions)."
They also cited "Talon and the NSR NVG program (which allowed for time critical transport of the subject by air at night), the provincial Patient Transfer Coordination Centre staff and the VGH ED Charge Nurse (for making coordination of our first ever flight to the VGH rooftop pad seamless), BCEHS paramedics (for the excellent patient care by the crew on-site after we landed, and to paramedics more generally for their tremendous support for this life saving initiative throughout the entire process), and all the medical staff at VGH."
