essentially wilderness rescue and wilderness medicine,” said Sam.
Sam defined wilderness medicine as providing quality care in challenging situations when you are an hour away from definitive care, like a hospital. The weather is unpredictable, the terrain is rough and patients are always different. Although wilderness medicine is typically associated with rugged settings, the concepts can be applied to ranches, line workers, wildland firefighters, search and rescue teams, rural ambulances and more.
“ It’ s very diverse in the fields that it can be applied in, which is why I think it’ s so important for people to get that education,” said Sam.“ You look around in the Black Hills, there’ s a lot of area out there where you’ re an hour or more away from definitive care.”
In places like the Black Hills and beyond, people often recreate in the back country. Luckily, nothing bad happens, due to timing or planning. However, as the director of SAR, Sam has seen firsthand what can happen when things do not go according to plan.
Often, people in those situations say,“ I didn’ t know what to do. I just froze. I was panicking.”
In contrast, Sam said,“ When I’ m in those situations, I do know what to do. I don’ t panic as much because I’ ve got the background, the knowledge, the education and the skills to do something productive. So by training people, educating people, equipping them with the knowledge and the skills, where if an emergency happens, they know where to start.”
In 2021, Sam became a certified instructor through Desert Mountain Medicine( DMM). Then, in 2024, he started Don’ t Panic as a provider for them. As an instructor, Sam continues his education while providing instruction through a variety of courses to students locally.
“ DMM was great because they had a lot of really good advice, and tips and tricks on how to be a provider. So I leaned on them quite a bit. The best part of the business is that my wife and I are the owners of it, and so I get to work side by side with my wife, Nora, who helps with a ton of the registration, the marketing, all the background stuff,” said Sam.
During the 2025 WFR Recertification course, students elevated their existing skills by integrating specialized, advanced rescue tools into complex scenarios. Photo courtesy of Ember Fluck myblackshillscountry. com Down Country Roads
5