Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC)
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC)
Developed by NAEMT鈥檚 Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Committee, the TECC program
is based on the guidelines from the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care
(Co-TECC) and the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) program. TECC uses lessons
learned from our military and applies them to the civilian world of tactical medicine.
This 16-hour course covers topics designed to decrease preventable death in the tactical
situation. Topics include: Hemorrhage control; surgical airway control and needle
decompression; strategies for treating wounded responders in threatening environments;
caring for pediatric patients; and techniques for dragging and carrying victims to
safety.
At the core of the TECC program are three distinct phases that have been well-proven
by TCCC-trained personnel in the war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. The
phases are as follows:
Direct Threat Care
- Care that is rendered while under attack or in adverse conditions.
Indirect Threat Care
- Care that is rendered while the threat has been suppressed, but may resurface at any
point.
Evacuation
- Care that is rendered while the casualty is being evacuated from the incident site.
TECC focuses on the medicine during these phases of care and provides guidelines for
managing traumas in the civilian tactical or hazardous environment. While TECC has
a tactical slant, it takes an all-hazards approach to providing care outside the normal
operating conditions of most EMS agencies, such as responding to a mass casualty or
active shooter event.
For questions please call 706-721-3548.