Preparing Outdoor Enthusiasts for Medical Emergencies in the Backcountry

Our Wilderness Training Faculty

We provide essential wilderness medicine courses for outdoor enthusiasts, ensuring preparedness for medical emergencies in the backcountry.

We teach some of our courses at the Rockford Ambulance Training Center in Rockford, MI. We also provide off-site courses. Our client list would include: Michigan State University, Kalamazoo College, the Human Nature School, SEEDs Ecology and Education Centers, Cranbrook Schools, North Central Michigan College, and Camp Roger.

Highly informative and practical!

John D.

A little bit about us

Steve Huisman, BAS, Paramedic IC, WP-C, NRP

Hannah Meixner, Paramedic IC, WP-C, NRP

Steve Huisman, began his career in EMS by getting some expereince in the Navy where he was attached with a Reserve Marine Rifle Company in Grand Rapids, MI, as a Fleet Marine Force (FMF) Corpsman, where he supported and was deployed overseas twice. Steve retired in 2010 as the Battalion Medical Chief for 1st Battalion, 24th Marines.

Steve completed Paramedic training at Davenport University and over the last four decades has worked Mercy Ambulance, which later became American Medical Response (AMR). There, he excelled in roles such as paramedic, Field Training Officer, Education Coordinator, and Field Supervisor. He continues to as a paramedic at Rockford Ambulance Service.

In 1998, Steve opened the Great Lakes EMS Academy and grew that into the primary EMS training facility in West Michigan with an exemplary reputation. In 2012, the Academy started to offer wilderness medicine courses. One of the paramedic students had experience as a SOLO instructor and taught a couple of WFA classes every year. When Steve sold the Great Lakes EMS Academy to Dorsey Schools, he kept the wilderness training separate from the Academy and has grown the wilderness medicine training company since April 2021.

a woman sitting on a rock with her hand up to the sky

Hannah Meixner is a Paramedic and EMS Instructor with extensive experience in both urban and wilderness medicine. She has spent many summers as a Wilderness Paramedic at Philmont Scout Ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where she responded to medical emergencies on mountain trails and in remote camps.

During the school year, she teaches EMT and Paramedic skills at Rockford Ambulance, where she cut her teeth as a young provider. She brings a balance of field-tested expertise and excitement to every class.