Our fearless founder, wilderness nurse
and colorful witch Scott
Lamont stands outside the Healer's Tent at an event in the Jemez Mountains.
The child's face in the background has been deliberately blurred.
Thanks to the generosity of members of the Chamisa
Local Council of the Covenant
of the Goddess, the Southwest
Earth Festival Association (SWEFA), the Children's Astral Sanctuary of Healing
Earth Wisdom (CASHEW), members of SMHS, and individuals from the New Mexico
Pagan community, we have a portable, well equipped three bed clinic that can
be set up virtually anywhere. The Healer's Tent is intended to make sure that
our festivals, which often take place over an hour from advanced care, are healthy
and safe events. We strive to provide peace of mind for community members who
have children or significant health concerns who might otherwise choose to forgo
these important religious celebrations. Most of what we do is provide routine
on-site management of minor illnesses and injuries, health advice, and complementary
care courtesy of our many talented healers, but we are equipped to provide allopathic
health service up to the critical care level. We are also part of New
Mexico's EMS system, and so can use the state's excellent EMS
radio repeater system to summon help from local EMS and/or air ambulances
such as Lifeguard Air
Emergency Services and PHI
Air Medical of NM, if need be.
Here is a sampling of photos to give you an idea of how the tent is set up (both
in the literal sense and the layout sense). Sorry about the quality, but these
were taken with an older Sony digital (one of those ones that used a floppy
disk to store the images). Since these images were taken, the clinical supplies
and organization of the tent has been revamped to improve the user friendliness
for our volunteers, grouping items in a more logical manner. Thanks to Robin,
Paldon, and Jim for all their hard work on this! We will also soon be creating
a stripped-down version of the tent so that we can provide support for smaller
events in a manner that does not require the effort it takes to set up the full
tent.
Some assembly required:
Hard to believe, but the the entire 10 ft x
20 ft tent, all equipment and furnishings fit in this 5x8 trailer!
Laid out and ready to assemble, here are the
contents and components of the tent.
It takes a team of about six volunteers
and hour and a half to unpack, assemble, and set up the tent. (it takes
about 8 to 10 people to break it down and pack it all up that fast!)
The tent from the outside:
The view from outside the completed tent. Note
the drawers behind the massage table, in the main treatment area.
This view is looking in through the door, behind
the curtain you see to the left. Note the desk (and the donation jar!),
the wash station, and the orange horn which is used to summon the
healers in an emergency.
The tent from the inside:
This is the view in the tent, starting deosil
from the upper left. The first view is after walking in the door and looking
to your left (the desk would be on your right). Note the small cot for
observation and even overnight care, the open upper tent flap for ventilation,
and the shelf unit for IV fluids, airway equipment, and the monitor/defibrillator.
The jump kits are the turquoise bags in the foreground, they sit on top
of a spineboard. The second picture is our massage table in the central
treatment area. The third picture is the medication and supplies table
that sits beside the massage table. It includes herbal preparations and
a complete set of massage oils and aroma therapy, as well as common over
the counter drugs and dressing supplies. The final picture is looking
into the back corner where the second cot sits. Note the privacy curtain,
so that we can have people resting in the back while treating others in
the central area.
