Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:

Flexible, adaptive, critical thinker — skilled in emergency assessments and actions. That describes many UVA Health team members — and it also happens to describe the volunteers of the Wintergreen Ski Patrol.

So it’s no coincidence that from MDs to APPs, RNs to flight medics and other roles — many of our UVA Health colleagues also volunteer their time, energy, and expertise as part of the 180-member Wintergreen Ski Patrol, which is marking nearly half a century at Wintergreen Ski Resort about 40 miles west of Charlottesville, Virginia. [Learn more below and in the link about the nonprofit's Nov. 29 Ski Swap fundraiser.*]

‘Emergent Situations’

Sean Porter, MSN, RN, CNL, FP-C, NRP, has worked for UVA Health University Medical Center’s Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) for a year and half, and for six years as a critical care flight paramedic for UVA Health Pegasus.

He’s embarking on his fifth season volunteering for Wintergreen Ski Patrol. “As an RN and a critical care paramedic, I feel quite at home rendering care to patients on the mountain,” he explains. “My MICU and Pegasus roles require quick thinking and assessment skills in unique, emergent situations — which translates nicely to the mountain environment.”

The UVA School of Nursing master of science in nursing alum — now an adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (AGACNP) student, also at UVA School of Nursing — says he became involved with Wintergreen Ski patrol to help others. “It takes emergency medical services to a new environment, and I love to be challenged,” he explains.

Dynamic Duo

Karen Braden, RN, MSN, CPNP, is a UVA Health Children’s nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric allergies, and her husband Tim Braden, is a UVA Health paramedic and assistant transplant coordinator, Post-Kidney Transplant. Each is marking two decades as a UVA Health team member.

Karen has been volunteering for Wintergreen Ski Patrol for eight years; Tim, more than a dozen years. Overall, they’ve served on other ski and bike patrols for decades.

Previously, Tim also worked as a UVA Health Medical Transport Network critical care paramedic for 10+ years, acquiring great assessment skills that he’s used in the volunteer ski and bike patrol roles.

Pivotal Moment

“When I was 7, I wanted to learn to ski,” recalls Karen. “My mother brought me to a ski area in New Jersey where I grew up. She got me dressed up, put my skis on, took me to the lift, and told me to get off at the top and ski down. I had no idea how to ski or what to do!”

She hopped off at the top of the lift and went to the patrol shack. A ski patroller was getting ready to make a run. "I asked him for help and he graciously gave me a mini lesson so I could get down the slope safely," Karen remembers. "That moment was pivotal in my skiing career, and I promised myself one day — I would become a ski patroller so I could help others!”

The Bradens joined Wintergreen Ski Patrol to give back to the community while doing something they love, and to spend time with what they call their patrol “families” who’ve become their close friends.

Safety on the Slopes

Some of the other UVA Health team members who volunteer on the WIntergreen Ski Patrol are: 

• Kostas Alibertis, NRP, Emergency Education and Response Coordinator, Life Support Learning Center
• Jamie Bourque, MD, Medical Director, Nuclear Cardiology, Echocardiography, Stress Lab
• Brett Cassasa, CFRN, Pegasus Flight Nurse
• Sharon Flynn, Project Manager, Strategic Marketing and Communications
• Brett Henyon, Paramedic Critical Care, Certified Pegasus Flight Paramedic
• Bob Knox, MSN, CFRN, NRP, Pegasus Flight Nurse and Medic
• Christa Mazur, RN, MSN, CNOR, OR Nurse, Orthopedic Center Ivy Road 
• Emily Mead, 4th year BSN, UVA School of Nursing
• Ginny Ragsdale, PA-C, Interventional Radiology UPG
• Brit Schoeb, Advanced EMT, Basic Life Support Educator
• Lee Ann Solo, RN, Patient Care Technician, MICU
• Chris Stemland, MD, Anesthesiologist, UVA School of Medicine Associate Professor
• David Weiss, MD, Professor, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery; National Ski Patrol Southern Division Medical Advisor 

Wintergreen Ski Patrol promotes safety on the slopes and emergency care of skiers and snowboarders. Ski Patrol volunteers work with Wintergreen’s safety patrollers known as the “Orange Jackets” — and the snowmaking and lift operations teams — to identify, mitigate, and remove hazards, and maintain safety on the trails.

While Wintergreen Ski Patrol volunteers are the first level of emergency care for skiers — they’re also equipped to coordinate advanced care when needed. And full circle, as some skiers with an injury needing that advanced care are directed to UVA Health University Medical Center.

Award-Winning

All Wintergreen Ski Patrol members belong to the National Ski Patrol and are certified as outdoor emergency care (OEC) technicians: a basic life support (BLS) level of training based on the standard emergency medical technician (EMT) curriculum, with an emphasis on care in the skiing environment.

All are trained in special rescue techniques such as chairlift evacuation. And about 85% also are outdoor emergency transportation (OET) patrollers — a certification that ensures proper toboggan handling skills sometimes necessary to move an injured guest from the slope to the first aid room.

Wintergreen Ski Patrol has won many awards including Outstanding Large Alpine Patrol from the National Ski Patrol — the presiding organization of more than 600 member resorts in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Tim served on a national committee that developed the curriculum for the National Ski Patrol bike course.  

Care, Teach, and Discover

Wintergreen Ski Patrol also hosts a Youth Ski Patrol program. During an eight-week course, patrollers teach 8- to 15-year-olds basic first aid and lifesaving strategies, slope safety, and skills for responding to emergency situations that may come up at home, school, or play. The course is designed for young skiers and snowboarders comfortable on at least intermediate-level terrain, and who want to have fun!

The Bradens’ daughter, Samantha, was a part of Youth Ski Patrol from ages 9 to 14. Now she’s taking the Outdoor Emergency Care Course — similar to the EMT program — so she can become a full-fledged Alpine patroller. “I have gained a community that is centered in helping others. It’ll help me because I want to go into the medical field. It gives me firsthand knowledge and allows me to know that this is a field I want to pursue,” says Sam, who also recently completed UVA School of Medicine’s Mini Medical School.

Ready, Set ... Ski Swap!*

As a 501c3 nonprofit, Wintergreen Ski Patrol is responsible for its own fundraising to buy first aid supplies, equipment such as lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs), ropes, markers, and flags, and upgrades to equipment.

On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the patrol holds an annual Ski Swap, where participants can buy or sell unused winter sports equipment. This year’s event will be held 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m, Friday, Nov. 29, at King Family Vineyard in Crozet, Virginia. Twenty percent of sales will be donated to Wintergreen Ski Patrol.