Denver College of Nursing Students, Faculty Devote Over 385 Hours of Care at Tough Mudder

Thirty Denver College of Nursing (DCN) students and three faculty provided over 385 hours of health care at the 2015 Tough Mudder in Snowmass, CO, where event organizers maintained a fully operational emergency medical field tent to treat injured Tough Mudder participants, said Dr. Marcia Bankirer, DCN president.

“Students and faculty worked in close partnership with an expert team of medical practitioners, local emergency departments and EMS providers. Together, they provided advanced field medical care and stabilized any injuries which could occur onsite,” she added.

The DCN team included faculty members Megan McClintock, undergraduate programs chair, Jennifer Morgan-Osborn, adjunct clinical instructor, and Diane Ream, assistant professor of nursing.

Students included: Thad Alstrup, Brian Andrukat, Lauren Bleil, Leah Boisseaux, Christina Bruce, Elise Budagher, Leslie Carlos, Danielle Cleary, Bethany Darnell, Desiree Davis, Emily Field, Mike Gnacinski, Kristen Grivas, Stephanie Guardado, Tyler Linne, Brittany Liposky, Jill Lysengen, Steph Massaro, Anna Maynard, Audra Mesko, Gina Mumma, Halley Olert, Jeanie Sederberg, Lisa Shurter, Stephanie Thomas, Austin Vaughn, Karlee Ward, Ellis Whalen, Tom Wilkes and Lindsey Ziemba.

“Tough Mudder events attract a wide range of participants,” DCN’s McClintock noted. “This was the second year for DCN students to partner with Tough Mudder. DCN faculty provided a trauma nurse training course prior to the students and faculty volunteering in the medical tent. Our team provided assessments and medical treatment to participants who ranged from 20-year-olds to 60-year-olds, and from cancer survivors to war veterans.”

The 2015 Tough Mudder included 14,000 participants who came from across Colorado as well as the United States. Tough Mudder events helped raise money for wounded veterans and its official charity partner, Wounded Warrior Project. In 2014, participants raised over two million dollars for official Tough Mudder charities.