Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute

In 1997 Dr Jel Coward and John Evans attended the Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician course in Ireland. This course was provided by a joint project involving the Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute (WEMSI) and Joe O'Gorman of the Irish Mountain Rescue Association.

WEMSI is an academic institute based in Pittsburgh and is headed up by Dr Keith Conover and Jack Grandey. WEMSI has huge standing and credentials in the rescue communities of the US. Keith Conover is an Emergency Physician of the highest calibre whilst Jack Grandey is a Flight Medic of vast operational experience and an educationalist par excellence. Both are keen outdoors-men and seem to have a special love of disappearing down holes in the ground!

John Evans of the Ogwen rescue team and Jel Coward came away from the course in 1997 completely enthused and verging on the evangelical about what was being achieved. It was then that they resolved to bring the course to mainland UK.

The WEMT course has been successfully run in the UK and Ireland every year since, with an ever-growing reputation.