Mt Rose Ski Tahoe, NV Takes Their Mountain Patrol To The Next Level

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe has received a permit which approves Advanced Life Support care for emergencies on the mountain. Issued by the Nevada Department of Health Emergency Medical Services Division, it allows them to oversee advanced medical practices, and have full control over the hiring process for paramedics. On mountain paramedics are incredibly useful, and Mt. Rose plans on gathering more on their team.

Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a higher level of emergency medical care, usually provided by paramedics, critical care paramedics, and emergency care practitioners. ALS includes practices such as cardiac monitoring, intubation, and administering IV medications.

Up until the new permit, Mt. Rose had agreements with Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and REMSA.  These partnerships made it clear how important a paramedic presence is at a ski resort.  Unfortunately, hiring could only happen from the REMSA and Fire Department candidate pools.

“The limited hiring pool for paramedic patrollers made it challenging to maintain staffing levels,” stated Charlie Tobano, the paramedic and emergency medical service manager for Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, in an interview with RGJ.

Read the full RGJ article to learn more about Mt. Rose’s new permit and how they plan to use it.

Tobano hopes that hiring from a larger pool will allow them to have the mountain covered with qualified medics.  These permits are generally issued to medical transport services and fire departments, but Mt. Rose is the first resort in the area to receive this Advanced Life Support permit.

“It is an impressive step for the ski patrol at Mt. Rose in patient care and the industry applauds them for their efforts.” stated Michael Reitzell, The President of the California Ski Industry Association.

So if you are a paramedic out there who loves the mountain life, you may want to check out Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe.