At The Lawson Group, we receive requests from companies all the time looking for staff that wants to be trained and certified in CPR and first aid. “In the old days” these requests were generally because a number of workers had these certifications and maintained them for the sole purpose of maintaining them, generally because they were members of a local volunteer fire department or rescue squad. Now the requests are more associated with the desire of many to just know what to do in the case of a medical emergency they observe, in their family primarily, or at work or while out in the public.
Here are a couple of things to remember about CPR and first aid training:
At Work
It used to be practical to send a worker with a minor cut or scrape to the local emergency room. They would clean it up, maybe put a few stitches in it and send them back to work. In today’s world, the same type of injury may end up costing over $1,000 and see your employee out of work for the day, or even more, as the emergency room may suggest they go home for the day – or longer. With Certified First Aid personnel in your place of business, it is possible for them to “triage” the injury and decide if the worker even needs to go to the hospital in the first place. In many cases, they are able to treat a simple injury at work and the worker can return to their job in minutes rather than take half a day to go to the hospital with the significant cost of an emergency room visit.
Here are some work situations that we can help prepare you for:
Heart Attack: Some statistics state that a heart attack happens every forty seconds, and one in three deaths in the US is the result of cardiovascular disease. Heart attacks usually do not happen in locations convenient to emergency medical personnel, so they are often fatal when they don’t have to be. With a heart attack, every minute counts, from the second it starts to the minute someone administers CPR. So, if your people know how to tell if someone is having a heart attack, and they can react to treat it quickly, with CPR and/or the use of an AED that they have been trained on, that person has a better chance of surviving.
Physical Danger/Injury: People get hurt at work all the time. While it’s more common in construction, machining, and manual labor situations, people can just as easily slip and fall when they are walking into their cushy desk job. Having employees who are able to respond quickly to an injury can help for these reasons:
- Fast response time – Obviously, if someone is seriously hurt, call 911 immediately. But, having first aid trained employees, who are already onsite, can help make sure the injured person’s condition doesn’t get worse before the medics can get there.
- Help the EMTs – Knowing basic first aid can make the EMT’s jobs easier, since they may need an extra set of hands depending on how severe the injury is.
- Stay calm – It’s very common for people to get hysterical in an emergency. Training people on what to do can help them stay calm and do a better job handling these situations.
At Home
Many people we train are doing it for their jobs, but many of them want to be ready if something happens while they are at home with their families. Staying calm, knowing what to do, and acting quickly will help you when little Johnny chokes on a raisin, or your elderly mother slips on the stairs. Injuries are scary, but people want to know what to do when bad things happen.
People don’t have the time or money to do safety training outside of work, and giving them the training they want actually makes them happier, more appreciative employees. And as we all know, happier employees work harder, don’t call out as much, and generally try to do their jobs better than unhappy employees.
At The Lawson Group, we can customize your CPR and first aid training courses based on what you need and the size of your company. We can even come to your facility and train some or all of your employees on the spot. Some companies have us in once or twice a month, and others only need us once a year. Be sure to talk to us and we’ll be happy to create a course or series of courses that fits your needs.
About The Lawson Group
The Lawson Group has been in business since 1978, and a lot of people know who they are but very few people know what they do. The Lawson Group works with customers to ensure they’re doing the right thing for themselves and their employees by providing consulting services for Employee Health and Safety Programs, managing Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance, and implementing Wellness Programs in an effort to improve their bottom line.
Scott Lawson has been practicing in the Concord, NH area since 1974 and believes in a practical approach to managing Worker Health and Safety, Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance and Employee Wellness. He has written numerous journal articles over the years and has presented to groups both small and large, throughout New England and at National Conferences, over 500 times.
To learn more about The Lawson Group’s approach to “Thinking. Without the Box.” visit www.TheLawsonGroup.com.
