Projects

2022

Salvamed is facilitating the purchase of more Extrication equipment for the Comandos! Mil gracias to our crowdfunders via gofundme! ¡Bárbaro! 🤘🏼The Equipment was purchased in the Spring and arrived in El Salvador overland in December.

Youth Volunteer Therapy 2021

Salvamed via MSW Marko Hoffman has begun to offer CDS First Responder Youth Therapy sessions for Critical Incident Stress. Said counseling is offered in a confidential way for any youth or adult Comandos that are facing acute stress when offering on scene support at Mass Casualty Incidents, Recoveries, Rescues or any other pre-hospital Care Environment. Marko has been a Clinical Social Worker since 2002 and is a Latino Minority Mental Health, Child and Geriatric Specialist. Sessions are in Spanish and are culturally sensitive for the realities of pre-hospital care in El Salvador where the average first responder at CDS starts when they are around twelve years old. Said youth are looking for positive role models and some are seeking refuge from gang recruitment.

Devin Price Training 2014 

Medic Devin Price of San Diego and three of his colleagues trained 50 CDS First Responders this last Week. Monday and Tuesday was all about ABC’s, CPR and the use of the AED. Wednesday and Thursday focused on trauma; mechanism of injury, definition and recognition of shock and priority vital signs. The remainder of the class is rotating through the c-spine station, extrication and patient packaging/movement through Friday.

Devin discusses MAST pants with Executive Director Roberto Cruz

Devin was able to obtain donations from the following agencies:

1. The NATIONAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT donated 9 “Cardiac Science” AED’s which have a value of about $10,000.

2. American Medical Response (AMR) was kind enough to donate approximately 60 pair of uniform pants in various sizes, the majority of which have never been worn and still had their tags on them.

Devin’s EMS instructors included Cal Cronin, a paramedic from San Diego and also works as an ocean lifeguard in San Diego.

Colton Poore, a paramedic student at Southwestern College in San Diego and is about a month away from finishing up his training.

Corey Leal, a paramedic at AMR and this is his first trip out of the USA.
Comandos de Salvamento Governing Board members Efraim Solis and Roberto Cruz are always content with the level of professionalism and spirit of Solidarity that Devin has been offering Comandos for over 14 years.

December 2013

SALVAMED Organizes and Networks El Salvador’s first National Extrication Course!

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40 graduates! Thanks PXTEAM!

The first weekend of December 2013, Salvamed’s 2 year planning for the first National Extrication Workshop in El Salvador was a success!  The course included 80 students from the Green Cross, Bomberos Nacionales, Comandos de Salvamento, and the National Civilian Police branch of the UMO, Unidad de Mantenimiento de Orden.  Knowledge acquired focused on scene size up, stabilization, and how to safely use hydraulic and manual tools.

All teams represented were included on the recently developed National USAR team.This workshop would not have been made possible without the combined forces of Salvamed, PXTEAM, Glasswing International along with Hi-Lift vice president Steve Dowden who donated a First Responder Jack last year and contributed another for this class. Salvamed has now paved the way for future possible business agreement and sponsorship of El Salvador rescue groups from HURST, RINGERS, AJAX, and HI-LIFT among others.

Carlos Fuentes learning how to make a tent with the First Responder Jack to slide a patient out on a backboard.
Carlos Fuentes learning how to make a tent with the First Responder Jack to slide a patient out on a backboard.
Teamwork: Salvamed, Comandos and PXTEAM!

SALVAMED helps organize extrication course in San Martin CDS Base
August 2012

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Mark Hoffman collaborated with the governing board of Comandos de Salvamento and Urban Rescue Squad Leader Edgar Jhonny Ramos in developing a training that included a donation of the Hi-lift first responder Jack that SALVAMED was able to mediate. Below is a short film shot by Mark.

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First Responder Jack Donation
2012

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SALVAMED would like to formally thank the North American company of Hi-Lift and their vice president of marketing Steve Dowden for the donation sponsorship of a medium sized First Responder-Hi-Lift Jack for Comandos de Salvamento. Operated by only one person, and under specific situations, the jack can be more useful than pneumatic tools or Jaws of Life. SALVAMED was able to mediate the sponsorship via Jeff Pugh of the Puyallup Extrication team in Washington State. Currently the Jack is being used almost every other day for extrications.

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Meet PXTeam
2012

Recently, SALVAMED members Mark Hoffman and Josue Martinez were invited by Jeff Pugh, leader of the Puyallup Extrication Team in Puyallup, Washington, in order to give a presentation on the work of Comandos de Salvamento in El Salvador.

A dialogue has been opened between both institutions in order to possibly have members of PXTeam travel to El Salvador in order to have a cross cultural immersion of EMS in El Salvador and offer training to members of the CDS Vehicular Rescue Squad in the basic use and understanding of the First Responder HILIFT Jack. These future trainings would benefit outlying CDS Bases that do not have access to hydraulic or pneumatic tools and have to resort to manual style extrications that jeopardize efficient patient care.

Salvadoran EMS instructor Luis Kolatto teaches in rural north central Washington
2011

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SALVAMED hosted Luis to offer free basic first aid classes in Quincy, Washington in collaboration with the local Community Clinic, First Baptist Church and Ballard Ambulance. More than 25 people learned 1 and 2 rescuer CPR, and how to respond situations that includes bleeding, feinting, fractures, choking, and epilepsy.

Classes were hosted by pastor Jose Magallanes and included immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, and Peru. Central Washington is home to many Hispanic communities that work in agriculture. Salvamed wants to formallly thank Ballard Ambulance out of Wenatchee  for loaning the training mannequins and hosting Luis to go on ambulance runs. Thanks to Quincy Community Health employees Mary Jo Ibarra, and Kathy Hirschel for assisting in making this class a success.

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Luis offering the Ballard brothers a Certificate of thanks.

SALVAMED Conquers IronMan to promote work of CDS
2010

International Rep of los comandos Mark Hoffman was able to tackle this 112 mile journey while carrying the CDS flag.

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