While the police were arresting and raiding Kiener, a gentleman went into what appeared to be a grand mal seizure. As I approached, the police had the man laying on his back and several police officers were trying to control his arms and legs. I told them I was a nurse that all they needed to do was turn him on his side and protect his head, not hold his legs and arms. I was then grabbed by my backpack and pushed behind the sidewalk line and told by an officer that one of the officer's has some sort of medical training and knew what he was doing.

Code of nursing professional conduct states: ‘In an emergency, in or outside the work setting, you have a professional duty to provide care. The care provided would be judged against what could reasonably be expected from someone with your knowledge, skills and abilities when placed in those particular circumstances.’

Under Duty to Protect law, Emergency workers have a general duty to rescue the public within the scope of their employment. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Warren v. DC that the police have no duty to protect any citizen not in custody, and cannot be sued for their failure to protect.

Layer clothing as the weather demands. The first layer, next to the skin should be long john's or a "union suit". Wear a sweater over a couple of T-shirts. Gloves to prevent frostnip. If fingers begin to numb, place them under your armpits or between your thighs. A lot of body heat is lost through the head, so wear a hat of some kind. A scarf should cover your face to protect it from wind chill. The outer layer should be a windproof, waterproof shell. Wear thermal socks and boots to keep feet warm and dry.

Make sure to eat. I've run across people who have forgotten to eat in the course of a busy day at OccupySTL. In cold weather, the body burns more calories as it compensates for heat loss. Warm food and sugar containing fluids help maintain the body's core temperature and provide energy for shivering to generate heat naturally. Also remember coffee is hot, but it's a diuretic.

Keep an eye on the people around you. During marches, have medics or safety members positioned in the back to make sure everyone is alright.

Things to know about hypothermia-The skin acts as your body's thermostat. The underappreciated concept about hypothermia is if you warm a hypothermic individual's skin without providing any heat to the core (putting a heating pad on the skin, for example), the drive to shiver can be extinguished and cause the blood vessels on the skin to dilate, which will cause increased hypothermia.

At core 95 degrees, a person enters the zone of mild hypothermia. Signs/symptoms are hard to identify but  include: 1) The person feels cold and shivering reaches maximum. 2) The person maintains a normal or slightly impaired coordination. Treatment includes: 1) Get the person into shelter and insulate them from the cold. 2) Replace any wet clothing with dry, insulated garments. 3) Give warm food and lots of sugar containing fluids to drink. Elevating the core temp. of an average sized person one degree requires consuming about 60 kilocalories worth of a hot beverage. Because a quart of hot soup at 140 degrees provides about 30 kilocalories, a person would have to consume two quarts to raise the temp. one degree. 4) Heat loss may be slowed by wrapping them in plastic bags or tarps as well as sleeping bags. Huddling together will also reduce heat loss. 5) Resist the urge to use hot water bottles or heating pads; they can turn off the shivering mechanism and, by themselves, add very little heat to the core.

At core 93 degrees, a person develops apathy, amnesia, slurred speech, and poor judgement. Call 911. Be cautious of giving this person food or fluids, they are at higher risk of choking.

Be safe, stay warm!

Also, The medical tent needs to remained CLOSED at all times when not in use.  I found the tent open several times over the past 2 days.  Obviously, this represents a risk as some may think the medical kits contains medication (narcotics) they may want and puts in jeopardy the cleanliness of the supplies within the kits should they be gone through.

Any and all assistance in this endeavor are appreciated.