At Duke, We Choose the Moon...or Mountains
Dr. Thom Mayer is an emergency physician with a storied career. He served as the Command Physician at the Pentagon Rescue/Recovery Operation on 9/11, Incident Commander for the inhalational anthrax outbreak in Washington, DC that same year, and led a Team Rubicon Mobile Emergency Team in Ukraine following the outbreak of war. He currently serves as the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association and was recently nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Importantly, he is a Duke School of Medicine alumni who knows that philanthropy can take you (and others) places.
As an instrumental force in the establishment of Duke Emergency Medicine at its origin, he knows that through his continued contributions, we have helped people achieve beyond their wildest imagination.
At the time of our conversion to a department, a generous donation from Dr. Mayer allowed us to support resident Dr. Daniel Cox in his endeavor to obtain his Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) from the University of New Mexico. The DiMM is an internationally recognized course designed to train healthcare professionals to handle complex medical scenarios in technical and austere environments.
With over 200 hours of coursework, Dan learned an array of topics including altitude physiology, wilderness trauma care, and expedition planning. One of the most exciting aspects of the program was the technical rescue training. Learning techniques such as rope rescue, avalanche response, and land navigation improved his ability to provide immediate medical care and lead extraction and transport efforts for patients in rugged terrain.
House Staff
The first half of the course took place over two weeks in February 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and throughout the mountains in Colorado. Some memorable moments from the winter session included ice climbing, avalanche rescue training, and a hypothermia “lab” in which Dan and three other volunteers were submerged in ice water until hypothermic and then randomized to various methods of rewarming. The second half of the course took place in August in Albuquerque, NM, and focused on more high-angle rescue skills, helicopter evacuation, heat illnesses, as well as a final technical and oral examination.
“Obtaining my Diploma in Mountain Medicine has been such an amazing and challenging experience. The training has greatly enhanced my understanding of medical care both in and outside of the hospital and given me a new set of skills to use in my future career. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Broder, Dr. Gerardo, my fellow residents, and the entire Duke Department of Emergency Medicine for their support and encouragement!” Cox stated. Likewise, Duke Emergency Medicine is indebted to generous donors such as Dr. Mayer who are making a difference in the careers of our trainees.