Page 51 - Occupational Health & Safety, February 2017

DEFIBRILLATORS & CPR
A Safety Plan for a Silent Killer
Following a five-step plan helps you design a program to protect your team from sudden cardiac arrest.
BY ARIC VACCHIANO AUND EDDIE MARTIN
nseen to the naked eye.
Often strikes without clear warning. Always deadly if not treated within
minutes.
One of the most dangerous risks to your team
might also be among the most invisible and most eas- ily overlooked—the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. But what can a safety manager do to prepare for such an unpredictable event?
Quite a lot.
With more than 300,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests taking place each year, it’s important for OH&S managers to implement an effective cardio- pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated exter- nal defibrillator (AED) program. Although not every- one can be saved from sudden cardiac arrest, studies have shown that early defibrillation, combined with high quality “compressions-only” CPR, can dramati- cally improve survival rates.
By putting a comprehensive cardiac arrest re- sponse program in place at your facility, you’ll be creating a safer environment for your employees and visitors.
A Matter of Time
When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, time is of the es- sence. A matter of minutes from a person collapsing to when they receive defibrillation can be the differ- ence between life and death.
It sounds like a very narrow window, and it is. If these victims are experiencing ventricular fibrilla- tion—the abnormal rhythm in the heart that often causes sudden cardiac arrest—and receive CPR and a shock from an AED within three minutes of collapse, their survival rate can increase up to 74 percent. Every additional minute of delay lowers the rate of success- ful resuscitation by 7 to 10 percent.
To meet a goal of less than three minutes from “drop to shock,” that leaves about two minutes to get an AED to the victim (for example, for a security guard to grab an AED and run to the victim or for a co-worker to find an AED and then dash back to the victim). Walking at a brisk pace, a person can cover about 300 feet per minute.
How can you ensure that CPR- and AED-trained responders and AED devices are within this distance from any potential cardiac arrest victim? In short, it’s
For some cardiac arrest victims, their chance of survival can increase up to 74 percent if CPR and an AED shock take place within three minutes of collapse.
about preparedness: You’ll need enough AEDs acces- sible in key locations, enough people trained on how to use them, and a clear program to manage the readi- ness and accessibility of each device.
Launching a Program that Saves Lives
By following the steps below, you will create a safety program with the potential to save lives.
Choose an AED that’s easy to use.
The AED you select should be so simple and easy to use that anyone can deploy it without hesitation. Responders must be confident that they can use the device safely and immediately. If they are intimidat- ed by complex operations or unclear instructions, it could cause delays in treatment.
Team up with your local EMS agency.
Your local EMS agency is one of your most im- portant partners in a sudden cardiac arrest response program. To support a smooth transition from your facility to the ambulance to the hospital, it helps to align your AED program with your EMS team. Many EMS jurisdictions maintain an AED location registry, and some also incorporate this information into their dispatching databases.
Hosting a “lunch and learn” session with a local EMS agency can help you understand what features and capabilities they would recommend in an AED.
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FEBRUARY 2017 | Occupational Health & Safety 47