Page 28 - OHS, September 2023

DEFIBRILLATION & CPR Training for Immediate Response Employers can build a safer workplace through CPR, AED and first aid education. BY ALYSSA FILLMORE Every year, some 436,000 people in the United States fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest, with about 10,000 occurring at the workplace1. Sadly, only about 40 percent of people who experience an out-of- hospital cardiac arrest get the immediate help that they need before professional support arrives. So, unless workers are trained on an effective approach to CPR safety, odds are the colleague who col- lapses may not survive. But if employees are properly trained, people stricken with cardiac arrest face much better odds. Studies show that im- mediate CPR can double or triple a per- son’s chance of survival. The question then becomes how to ensure that your workplace is prepared? Occupational health and safety managers should look for courses that prepare em- ployees to provide immediate care to an ill or injured person until the arrival of more advanced medical personnel. For example, training should teach employees to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). AEDs are devices that analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if neces- sary, deliver an electrical shock, known as defibrillation, which helps the heart re- establish an effective rhythm. Dan Cast- agna, whose Philadelphia-based company, Emergency Care, Health & Safety, certifies instructors in Red Cross training, says that AEDs — and rigorous training on how to use them — are vital in the workplace. “CPR alone is not going to correct an ab- normal heart rhythm. You need the electric- ity to do so,” he says. “The AED is extremely crucial in with conjunction with CPR.” In addition to training employees to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest, pro- vide CPR and use an AED, health and safety programs should provide compre- hensive training in a range of workplace health emergencies. ■ Trainees should learn to identify illness and injury that require immediate action, such as severe bleeding, stroke and shock, whether from an injury or an ana- phylactic reaction. ■ Communication skills that help immediate responders treat emergencies without duplication of effort and help alert advanced medical responders quickly. ■ Additionally, occupational health and safety managers should consider add-ons to training such as caring for an asthma attack, using an epinephrine auto- injector in conjunction with anaphylaxis and managing severe bleeding injuries. My organization offers employers a comprehensive workplace First Aid/CPR/ AED program that is both OSHA-compliant and can provide employees with a reposito- ry of skills, making them essential bulwarks against workplace emergencies. It draws upon studies that show that varying learn- ing approaches2 can improve effectiveness for adults on learning retention. Convenience and leveraging the value of peer-to-peer education are important in this kind of training. So our online op- tion can be completed by employees at their convenience and an in-class portion can be provided by certified instructors in the workplace. Also, being taught by one’s peers is an effective learning approach, so we train employees to teach the course, allowing businesses to provide their own training in-house while supported by high standards and materials. The program has an adaptive learn- ing component, where training can be customized to engage each student based on their existing knowledge base. “Some of our students say that adaptive learning is helpful because it allows them to recall what they learned from a previous class,” Castagna says. Getting workers ready for medical emergencies In an emergency, bystanders can be a criti- cal lifeline until professionals arrive, yet nearly half of U.S. adults are unprepared to help in a medical crisis, according to a recent survey3 from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Further, training is strongly correlated to taking action. Nine-in-10 adults trained in any form of emergency response skill (91 percent) are willing to take action in an emergency, according to the ACEP survey. Against this backdrop, my organiza- tion and ACEP recently released a course called “Until Help Arrives,” designed to educate and empower bystanders to take action and provide lifesaving care if they are first on the scene during an emergen- cy. The 90-minute online course covers five fundamental actions that can be taken during a life-threatening emergency that can help sustain or save a life until EMS arrives: hands-only CPR (no breaths); au- tomated external defibrillator (AED) use; choking first aid; severe bleeding control, including use of a tourniquet; and admin- istering naloxone for an opioid overdose. The fusion of science and effective training lets employees act when con- fronted with an emergency. That’s some- thing safety manager Mike Mathews of Firestone Fibers & Textile in Kings Moun- tain, N.C. and a team of CPR/AED-trained staff learned when helping an employee was suffering from an asthma attack. The employee had no detectable pulse, wasn’t breathing and was turning blue. Mathews retrieved an AED, while two other employees performed rescue breathing and CPR, and a fourth called EMS. The team, which was nominated for a Red Cross award, kept the victim alive until advanced medical help arrived. “I am confident that without the ac- tions of these team members and the in- valuable American Red Cross First Aid, CPR, and AED training that prepared \[my team members\], Roy would not have sur- vived,” Matthews said. Alyssa Fillmore is director, workplace prod- uct management for the American Red Cross. Visit redcross.org/training for more informa- tion about Red Cross workplace programs. REFERENCES 1. azqs.short.gy/4CDX5V 2. azqs.short.gy/bOHA97 3. azqs.short.gy/5walq7 28 Occupational Health & Safety | SEPTEMBER 2023 www.ohsonline.com