Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO) is the oldest continuously operating school of

wilderness medicine Wilderness medicine is a rapidly evolving field and is of increasing importance as more people engage in hiking, climbing, kayaking, and other potentially hazardous activities in the backcountry. The modern definition of wilderness medicine is "m ...

in the world. SOLO is one of the originators of today's

Wilderness First Responder Wilderness first responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote locations. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical providers who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings ...

(WFR) and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) programs. SOLO is accredited by the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

Lifelong Learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...

program. In 2004 it provided

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

training to the cast and crew of

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' ''Colonial House'' program, and a number of colleges and universities across the United States recognize its courses for credit. SOLO also trains advanced providers in disaster recovery medicine and extended remote care through its GEOMEDIC course.

History

SOLO was founded in the early 1970s by Dr Frank Hubbell and Lee Frizzell in the White Mountains of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The pair developed what would become its Wilderness First Aid course in order to better prepare rescuers to respond to medical emergencies in remote areas an hour or more from definitive medical care. The organization built a campus on Tasker Hill, just south of Conway, New Hampshire in order to have a home base from which to teach its courses. In the 1980s, SOLO created the

(WFR) and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) courses. In addition to the Wilderness First Aid course, both of these courses have to become industry standards. In 1988, SOLO staff helped develop wilderness medicine clinical guidelines through the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Wilderness Medical Task Group. These guidelines were later adopted by the National Association of EMS Physicians. As of 2015 SOLO has taught and certified over 300,000 students worldwide.

TMC Books

TMC Books is an independent publishing company specializing in textbooks and support materials for SOLO along with an eclectic array of other topics, including climbing guides and educational titles. TMC Books produces the Wilderness Medicine Newsletter, an online resource for wilderness medical care providers. Its 2005 book, Treehouse Chronicles, went on to win five national book awards. These include a ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award, an Independent Publisher Book Award, a Writers Notes Book Award, an American Design Award, and a 2006 Hollywood Book Festival Award.

References

{{Reflist Wilderness medicine Education in Carroll County, New Hampshire Education in New Hampshire