I want to share this story with you courtesy of Amanda Allain with ADP. I think it is fitting coming into the winter months where we might see similar situations ourselves.

"My story happened when we were on vacation. We were traveling on the Mass Pike in torrential rain when we saw a car that spun off the road and was on its side. Many people were helping them stay dry with umbrellas; you could tell this accident did not just happen. About 10 miles up the road where there is a shortcut for the police to cut from one side of the pike to the other, we saw 2 police cars with lights blaring come in and fly past us...Then a few minutes later we saw them on the other side going back...I believe they were trying to respond to the car accident but could not find where they were. This just goes to show how important it is to know exactly where you are and give as much info as possible to save valuable time! "

This is a great example of how important is to know where you are at all times. If you do not know where you are, Emergency Medical Services probably will not know either. Currently in the State of Massachusetts, we do not track your cell signal to locate your position. Therefore, when you call 911 for assistance and they ask where you are, keep these things in mind;

What is the last mile marker you passed?

Are you traveling East,West, North or South on the road?

What exit or over-pass?

What is the name of the street signs around you?

What are the major landmarks around you?

Whether you are traveling this Holiday Season to visit family, friends or even just to work, know where you are going, where you came from and describe what is around you. 

Our next story comes to us from Dave McLaren at McLaren & Associates, CPA's.

"In 1991, on my way back from Waltham, I was following a red Ford Probe in heavy traffic about 5:30 on a Friday. All lanes were doing a steady 60 mph. Around Exit 13, where the road curves, I noticed the car in front of me slowly work its way onto the grassy median as if the driver fell asleep. All of a sudden, he swerved back into the fast lane, sending the car into a skid sideways at 60 mph. Suddenly, his rear tires (on the grass) hit a drain, the car swung around, plowed into the guardrail and then bounced off and rolled into the center lane. A trailer truck traveling at 60 mph T-boned the car sending the driver crashing out of his passenger window with his body flipping end over end on the highway as his car disintegrated and shot 100 yards down the highway. The truck never stopped. After stopping my vehicle and calling the police, I was stunned to see this man stand up, white as a ghost, covered in blood, start walking into oncoming traffic as the middle and slow lanes were still going by at 60 mph. I ran out of my car and grabbed him right before another driver hit him. He was in shock and had blood pumping out of his head, arm and leg. I was too afraid to let him lay down as I thought he would die on me. No one stopped for the accident. I ran to my trunk, got a blanket and a first aid kit and covered him and began applying pressure to his severe wounds. An EMT finally stopped to help me after about 10 minutes. The police arrived shortly thereafter. The actions saved his live and he recovered quickly."

I would like to thank Dave for sharing his story with us. Also, I would like to point out that Dave went above and beyond what is expected from a bystander and would like to congratulate him for that.

Our next story comes from Kevin Cantwell from Expert laser Services.

"Several years ago I had a crew clearing some brush and small trees. The guy on the chain saw was not a tree expert, but he was experienced in using a chainsaw and cutting down trees. As he was cutting the tree, another guy pushed on the tree with a backhoe to make sure it fell away from a building. Just as the tree was cut through the pressure made the trunk swing around. A limb hit the tree cutter in the side of his head, causing a severe concussion and months of lost time. He was not wearing a hard hat at the time, although I am not sure if that would have helped. The standard rule of using the right tool for the job might have applied. A backhoe is not the proper method to guide a tree as it is being cut. A tree company might have cost some more money at the time, but nothing compared to what happened to my workers compensation premium!!!"

I think this is important for any homeowner or business owner. It might not be you that has an emergency, but this is a perfect example of how others can effect us. We hire companies to come into our homes to do work everyday, it doesn't take much. Sometimes these workers have deadlines to meet and as a result might rush....this can make a very big difference!

Thanks to Kevin for sharing!

This next story comes to us from Paul Ceccarelli. How he dealt with his First Aid situation.

"It was a nice fall day in October of 2004 when I decided to tackle my next homeowner project. It was time to replace the windows in the front of my house. Now, this is a project that seemed relatively easy to me, since I had been doing carpentry work on and off for over 25 years.

So, out come the old windows, then time to get ready to put in the new ones, but wait...the new windows are a little bit smaller. No problem, I'll just cut a few 2 x 4's and back in business.

So I have a 2 x 4 on the saw ready to cut,then a second later my arm is in the chop-saw getting cut! It only took a second and now I had an arm that was cut clear to the bone. Since I have been through First Aid Training, I did not panic and put direct pressure with a towel immediately. I called for my wife to grab more towels and to stay calm. I had no use of my hand at this point, but we managed to control the bleeding.

I was rushed to the hospital where I received over 35 stitches. After months of rehab I now have 98% use of my hand."

Thanks to Paul for sharing this story with us. I want to add a personal note to this story. If you don't know, Paul is my father. When I received the phone call I was on Cape Cod working. I had to drive 110 miles home to install windows so they could come home from the hospital to a weather tight house. I kept all my appendages!

So recently I have asked some associates, friends and fellow net workers to offer stories of their personal experiences dealing with or wittnesing a First Aid Emergency.

So this first story comes to you from Joe Holm:

"Last November, I was coaching my son's elementary school basketball team, and one of the players was cut pretty badly over the eye. As we were scrimmaging, one of the players who had not played before, and confused football for basketball in the rules dept, fell on top of one of the players, driving his face into the hardwood floor. The player who had his face  planted, happened to be wearing Rec spec's ( thankfully, not his glasses ) and they were driven into his eyebrow. After he sat up, there was a little blood dripping down his face, but not too bad. I removed his rec spec's and the flood began! He had a slice right across his eyebrow!! And oh by the way, it was my son... I panicked for a quick second, then reached for my "medical kit"... which consisted of one icepack, and some gauze... I went through the gauze in about 30 seconds, and had paper towels and the icepack on it to keep the swelling down and try to stop the bleeding. I was the only adult in the gym, so I had to get someone back to the gym to finish the practice so I could take my son to the hospital. He thankfully required no stitches, just glue, which he proudly showed off the next day at school with his black eye. I think the experience was more upsetting for me than it was for him. "

First off, thanks to Joe for sharing this story. Sounds like Joe did a great job handling this situation, especially because it was his own kid. Parents often time have that initial "freak-out" reaction which does not help the situation. I am happy to hear your son is ok and thank you for sharing.

Heat stroke kills over 4,000 people annually, and thousands more suffer heat-related illnesses and injuries every year. Heat illness occurs when the body retains more heat than it loses. Core temperature rises as a result. Workers are at greater risk of heat illness when they are dehydrated, not used to working in a hot environment, in poor health, older, or have had heat illness before.

Heat related illness usually have a starting point of dehydration and if ignored or accelerated can lead to heat exhaustion and eventually heat stroke. If you keep your body hydrated, you can generally keep yourself safe all summer long.

If you are someone who works in the elements or just enjoys the outdoors than DRINK FLUIDS!

Let me ask you this question, Have you ever been or are you thirsty right now?

If the answer to this questions is YES than you are or have been dehydrated. At the point that you are thirsty it is to late, it is going to be much harder to re-hydrate yourself. Preventative maitnence is the best way to go.

You have to put oil in the motor of your vehicle to keep it running smoothly and keep the internal parts lubed up. Water does the same thing for your body, you need to keep it lube up and running smooth by puttting fluids in it.

You can learn more about heat illnesses and other summer issues when you take a First Aid class. Learn how to take care of yourself and your family.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Effective August 1, 2008 at least one individual employed by the institution (including part time, volunteer or graduate assistant coaches, but not including student employees who are not members of the athletics training staff) certified in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use and familiar with the institution's emergency plan activation policies shall be present at each athletically related activity involving student-athletes.

Prior to this new legislation only the Athletic Trainer was required to be certified for practices and competitive events. Under the new guidelines more people must be trained. Now the requirement is for a greater range of activities.

An individual certified in first aid, CPR and AED must be present at any athletically related activity that is physical in nature and required by the institution (e.g., practice, competition, strength and conditioning training, weightlifting sessions).

This will also effect the non contact sports as well. An individual certified in first aid, CPR and AED must be present in practice situations like cross country runners practicing on a road course, rowers on the water or golfers on the golf course?

An individual must be present on site at each required athletically related activity to ensure adequate health and safety monitoring is being provided. Planned access to a qualified individual, such as a certified individual three to five minutes away from the court or field would not satisfy the intent. If a team splits its members into more than one group in order to conduct separate practice and conditioning activities in separate facilities, an individual employed by the institution and certified in first aid, CPR and AED must be present at each group's activities. The proposal's intent is to have certified individuals present at each athletically related activity site to ensure adequate presence for all student-athletes. It is not permissible for one person to split time between two different group‟s activities. The certified individual must be present the entire time the physical athletically related activity is conducted. For example, any practice should not start until the certified individual is present.

I commend the NCAA for doing this. They are creating a safer enviroment for all student athletes under all circumstances.  Kudos to the NCAA!

I was at a networking meeting yesterday morning where I listened to Russ Swallow from Benifitslab talk about disability insurance. Safety Trainersis fortunate to be surrounded by experts in their field of business. So, you might be thinking what does CPR and First Aid have to do with disability insurance.

At first, you might not see how disability insurance and CPR go together.  However, Why do you buy disability insurance? Why do you take a first aid and CPR class? The reason that people get disability insurance is for the "worst case" scenario in their life. CPR and first aid training will also prepare your for a "worst case" scenario.

Russ caught my attention yesterday morning and you can read more on his blog. If you are in the planning mode of what unsuspecting things that life might throw your way, why not take a first aid or CPR course too?

 Whether it is insurance or first aid training, you never know what curve ball might come your way. Be prepared. 

There are many industries that are required and mandated to have CPR certifications and First Aid training to stay compliant with regulatory agencies like Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Public Health (DPH) and Massachusetts Early Education and Care (EEC). These regulations are in place to promote a safe work environment.

Who makes you as an individual get this training?

The answer is no one! In my opinion, everyone should get trained. About 75 to 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home. This could mean the difference between life of death for a loved one.

Would you like the power to double the chance of survival of a loved one if they go into cardiac arrest?

You do have that power, if you provide CPR immediately you can double that chance that they will live. Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die on the way to the hospital. If no one does CPR immediately, the chance of survival is only 7-10 percent. WOW! Those aren't good odds.

Are you a new parent, grandparent or babysitter?

What if the child began to choke? Contrary to popular belief picking the child up by the leg and hitting them in the back is not the right procedure. In a CPR course you can learn how to manage any size and weight of a child when you need to help them if they are choking.

Do you have a pool, live on a lake or the ocean?

If someone was to drown and you pull them out of the water, the next step is to perform CPR, exchanging air for water until you clear the lungs,and finally do compressions until they show signs of life.

 Feeling helpless is one of the worst emotions to deal with. What if I did something different? What if I didn't do enough? What if I knew how to do CPR? What if I were trained in obstructed airway?

 Don't let yourself get into this position, find a training and sign yourself up.

It has been a long time coming. The Federal Government has taken another step to help the chance of survival for victims of sudden cardiac arrest.They have declared the first week of June "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week".

In a staggering study it is found that there is a 95 percent mortality rate for over 300,000 Americans who are victims of sudden cardiac arrest each year.

It is also estimated that on average it takes 8 to 10 minutes for first responders(9-1-1) to reach a victim. This number can vary depending on your location. Why is this important?

The reason that this is so important is because after four minutes without oxygen going to your brain it will begin to die. After eight minutes it becomes the point of no return, irreversible brain death begins to occur. So even if the heart is restarted, the damage after eight minutes can never come back. This is why we need people to do CPR.

You can read the whole article that was released by clicking here.

 This is an important step for making a difference. If people now become more aware of this situation and learn how YOU can make a difference than we can change these statistics and have a positive outcome for victims of sudden cardiac arrest. There are also programs out there that are now trying to make a difference such as:

• AED Implementation programs
• Public Access to Defibrillators (PAD) Program
• HeartSafe Community
• Family & Friends CPR and First Aid

With a lot of attention now on these issues we hope to start to create safer environment for everyone.