NDLS

In 2007 Denver Health became a Regional Training Center and has since educated over 400 health professionals in disaster preparedness and response through the National Disaster Life Support™ (NDLS™) curriculum. This is standardized training program for disaster management, and since before the attacks in 2001 there has been a need for an all-hazards training program. With the help of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Congress, and several academic institutions the NDLS™ was formed in 2003.

With this large collaborative effort, and in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA), an overall goal was set to standardize emergency response training nationwide and strengthen the nation’s public health system. The AMA is also the sponsoring and continuing medical education (CME) accrediting organization for this initiative as well as the publisher of the texts.

The NDLS™ core group of courses targets a wide range of disciplines including concerned citizens, business owners, public service personnel and first responders, to EMS professionals, nurses, physicians, and everyone in-between. The goal of teaching multiple disciplines simultaneously is to develop a commonality of approach and language in the health care community, improving the care and coordination of response in Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) disasters and public health emergencies.

The National Disaster Life Support Education Consortium™ (NDLSEC™) is an unincorporated association jointly sponsored by the AMA and National Disaster Life Support Foundation (NDLSF™) and convened by the AMA. In an effort to maintain their mission of a standardized approach to training the NDLSEC™ developed the D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R Paradigm, which is introduced in CDLS® and followed through to ADLS®. The D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R paradigm organizes the students’ preparation and response to disaster management. It emphasizes an all-hazards approach to mass casualty incident management and facilitates ongoing qualitative and quantitative assessment of an incident.

D         Disaster
I          Incident Command
S         Scene Security & Safety
A         Assess Hazards
S         Support
T         Triage and Treatment
E         Evacuation
R         Recovery

To see when National Disaster Life Support™ (NDLS™) courses are offered, click here.