One of the most important things you can do is be prepared in the event of a medical emergency or an injury.  What would you do if someone at your business or at home went into cardiac arrest?  Cardiac arrest is when your heart stops beating, and oxygen stops flowing to your cells.  Brain cells start to die in 4 to 6 minutes.   With each minute that passes the chances of survival decreases 7% to 10% per minute.  You can make a difference!  With immediate CPR you can double or even triple the chances of survival.  Using an AED (automated external defibrillator) can make the survival rate even go up higher, studies show up to 53% survival rate.   The current save rate for sudden cardiac arrest is under 10% primarily because CPR is not started in time.   Think about the effects of not knowing CPR.  You may lose someone you care about either at home or at work, the grieving of the family, friends and co-workers.   Providing CPR and First aid training also shows your employees that you care about them and boosts morale.  Remember, by the time help arrives it may be too late to help.  You can make a difference.

We spoke of sudden cardiac arrest because time is of the essence.  But what about first aid.  Can someone suffer a heart attack or seizure?  Can someone be cut with a box cutter, hit with a fork lift or have a crushing injury? Do you have the needed first aid supplies and the training to use them?  Taking a first aid course will help prepare your staff to handle an emergency in a calm manner.  First aid classes cover items such as medical emergencies, Injury management, environmental emergencies and general items such as safety.   Although most injuries are minor we never know what the future holds.  If you are in a facility that uses machinery or power tools perhaps a tourniquet should be on hand. 

Don’t wait until it is too late.  Check your first aid kit and make sure your staff is prepared by being trained. 

So why did I write this article?  I have been a volunteer EMT for over 45 years, I have worked as an educator in a hospital for 17 years and have volunteered for the American Heart Association for many years.  I have seen so many people die because CPR was not started soon enough and injuries that may have been treated earlier if someone was trained.  Training not only give you the knowledge and skills needed to help but also the confidence to help.  I started Safety NJ LLC because I was not ready to retire and still wanted to help others.  I still provide training both at Safety NJ LLC in Bloomfield, NJ and also at companies, organizations and schools.  Additionally, we sell first aid kits and supplies, AED’s and AED Supplies.  Visit our websites www.safetynj.com (for CPR) and www.safetynjfirsitsidkits.com (for supplies) for supplies or call us at 973-320-3200.