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FIRST AID GUIDANCE FOR RETURN TO WORK IN A COVID-19 WORLD
As we start returning to work with guidance from the Government about physical distancing and good hygiene, we need to consider how do our first aiders provide treatment in the workplace.To get more news about hemostatic dressing, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.
This guidance can be used as part of your Prevent strategy, under the Prepare, Inform, Prevent, Recovery approach to returning to work.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include fever and/or persistent cough, with some people developing severe pneumonia causing breathing difficulties.
The spread of SARS-CoV-2 is most likely to happen when there is close contact with an infected person, and the risk increases the longer someone has close contact with them.
We never know when someone will need first aid in the workplace; however, we need to plan for it happening. And now, in a COVID-19 world, we need to include preventing infection as part of those plans.
The most important advice to give employees remains to stay at home, self-isolate, and seek medical advice if they show symptoms of COVID-19.
Providing First Aid
Where possible, try and get the casualty to administrate self-aid with your support.
It’s important for you to remain aware of the risks to yourself and others during this time.
In the event that somebody needs emergency first aid at work, go through the normal triage process and call the emergency services if necessary.
What to do if you are required to provide CPR
Because of the heightened awareness of the possibility that the victim may have COVID-19, the American Heart Association offers this advice:
Recognize cardiac arrest by looking for the absence of signs of life and the absence of normal breathing. Do not listen or feel for breathing by placing your ear and cheek close to the patient’s mouth. If you are in any doubt about confirming cardiac arrest, the default position is to start chest compressions until help arrives.
Make sure an ambulance is on its way. If COVID 19 is suspected, tell them when you call 911.
If there is a perceived risk of infection, rescuers should place a cloth/towel over the victim’s mouth and nose and attempt compression-only CPR and early defibrillation until the ambulance (or advanced care team) arrives. Put hands together in the middle of the chest and push hard and fast – 1/3 of their chest size and a rate of 100 per minute.
Early use of a defibrillator significantly increases the person’s chances of survival and does not increase risk of infection
If the rescuer has access to personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g. FFP3 face mask, disposable gloves, eye protection), these should be worn.
After performing compression-only CPR, all rescuers should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water; alcohol-based hand gel is a convenient alternative.
Spirit EMS honors farmers with first-aid kits
As the nation celebrated National Farmer Appreciation Day on Oct. 12, Spirit EMS employees were out canvassing area farms to show their appreciation.To get more news about ifaks, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.
Earlier this week, Spirit EMS stopped at farms throughout Shelby County in the areas it services with 911 coverage including Loramie, Washington, Perry, and Salem townships. Employees provided the farmers with a card, sharing the company’s appreciation for their hard work and dedication to feed the world. They also equipped them with a first-aid kit to keep in the cab of their farm machinery in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
“As a family-owned and operated business, we’ve pledged to give back to the community,” said Brian K. Hathaway, the president and CEO of Spirit EMS. “Passing out the first-aid kits is just another way to show how much we truly care about those we serve and protect in Shelby County and areas beyond.”
Hathaway, a Future Farmers of America (FFA) alumnus himself, said the idea to give out complimentary first-aid kits came from the idea of FFA members from area chapters taking meals to farmers in the fields.
“Growing up on a family farm myself, I can remember many times, the best thing I could find to take care of my injury was a dirty old rag in the cab of the tractor,” Hathaway said. “I thought having a first-aid kit that was well equipped with supplies to take care of those minor injuries would be something useful and appreciated.”
Capt. Jeremy Miller, the manager of Spirit’s Sidney and Houston stations, said the first-aid kits that have been passed out so far this week have been appreciated by all the farmers they’ve met up with.
“Some have wondered why the ambulance was showing up when they hadn’t called for one,” Miller said with a smile. “When they saw that we had something to drop off to them, they were thankful and liked the idea. It’s an honor to work for a community-minded company that salutes these hard-working men and women for all they do for us so that we can feed the world. By giving them a first-aid kit and just saying thank you, it’s not only personally gratifying but something different our company has chosen to do.”
While the company began its distribution of kits throughout Shelby County as a start, they plan to pass out the remaining first-aid kits as they travel throughout the area they service in western Ohio and eastern Indiana this week.
Spirit EMS reminds everyone to be cautious and mindful of farm machinery on the roadway as harvest is in full swing. Likewise, they encourage farmers to stay safe as they harvest area fields and make sure, as they travel from one field to another, to have the equipment well-lighted as darkness sets in.
“As EMS providers, our mission is to promote the health, safety, and wellness of everyone through encouragement to always be thinking of personal safety first,” Hathaway said. “It’s our hope they’ll never need our first-aid kit, but they now have the assurance of knowing it’s there should the unforeseen need arise.”
Why police need to train to use and carry an IFAK
The modern Individual First Aid Kit or IFAK was developed as a result of research performed into the causes of preventable deaths in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in 2003-2004 and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2006.[1] The findings were sobering. The number of preventable deaths in combat accounted for 7.8 percent of total combat deaths.[2] This significant number had remained essentially unchanged since the Vietnam War.To get more news about stop bleeding, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.
Military officials felt that these were unacceptable losses and developed a new system of medical training for non-medical military personnel, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC).[1, 2] Along with TCCC training, every soldier would also be provided an IFAK. This kit would be worn by every soldier in combat operations for immediate self-aid or buddy aid.
The first IFAK’s were simple in design. The equipment was selected for its ease of use by non-medical personnel and to address the two major causes of preventable deaths in combat, uncontrolled hemorrhage and airway obstruction. This rapid response by the military paid off, and by 2011, the percentage of preventable deaths in combat in was significantly reduced to 2.6 percent.[3] The IFAK, combined with TCCC training, has saved thousands of lives.
THE NEED FOR CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT IFAKS
Recent events, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, and several other mass casualty shootings have made it clear that law enforcement officers, like the military, must be prepared to provide immediate life-saving first aid. This need is especially important as civilian paramedics are traditionally staged away from the scene until it is safe or mostly safe to enter. This time delay can prove deadly when rapid bleeding or airway obstruction is present.
In the Fort Hood shooting incident, the officer who stopped the assailant was shot through both thighs. She did not have an IFAK. Off duty physicians on the scene applied improvised tourniquets, but they were not effective. Her life was saved when a military medic applied a C-A-T tourniquet similar to the ones found in military IFAKs.[3]
During the Boston Marathon bombings response 27 tourniquets were applied in the prehospital setting.[1] They were all improvised tourniquets and many of them required replacement with a C-A-T tourniquet to prevent ongoing extremity exsanguination.
In 2015, department issued IFAKs were successfully used by law enforcement officers at a mass shooting incident at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana.[4] These cases demonstrate the need for IFAKs for law enforcement and how IFAKs can save lives in the civilian setting.
In June 2015, the United States InterAgency Board (IAB) released a white paper on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) and IFAKs for law enforcement. This paper, referencing the concepts of TCCC and the military IFAK, established recommendations for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) training and IFAKs for law enforcement officers. The IAB recommendations, along with a description of each item, are listed below.[5]