HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Nobody expects a medical emergency. Yet emergencies can strike anyone, anytime, anywhere—even in the workplace.
Huntsville Center’s Safety Office is actively taking steps to decrease the risk of an unfavorable outcome for medical emergencies occurring at the Center by ensuring employees have access to the correct equipment and training, establishing emergency protocols, and training first aid attendants to serve in all facilities.
First Aid Training
Huntsville Center now has five certified First Aid/CPR instructors who are providing this vital training quarterly to employees who volunteer to serve as attendants, said Safety Manager Kellie Williams. The Center currently has 31 trained first attendants.
“No matter how safe and secure our workplace is, injuries and or medical emergencies happen,” said Williams. “First aid attendants are trained individuals that can take the best possible course of action in the event of an emergency.”
First-aid training teaches employees skills that can save lives not only in the office but anywhere a medical emergency occurs, she added.
“If something happens at home or in the public, trained individuals are better equipped to take control of the situation and render aid,” Williams said.
The training is open to all employees, and the schedules are communicated via email.
Lifesaving Equipment
Huntsville Center’s Safety Office has also placed five automated external defibrillators throughout the main building at Quality Circle and another in an ancillary facility. These lifesaving devices deliver an electric shock through the chest to the heart that can potentially stop an irregular heartbeat and allow a normal rhythm to resume following sudden cardiac arrest.
Should an employee suffer a cardiac event in the workplace, access to an AED could mean the difference between life and death.
Returning to the Office
The Safety Office encourages employees returning to the office to check around their work stations to locate the closest first aid attendant and AED in case of an emergency. A complete list of first aid attendants is available on the Safety Office’s SharePoint page. Click on the “Emergency Plans” tab on the left side of the page and select “First Aid Attendants.”
If an emergency occurs and a first aid attendant cannot be located, employees should call the guard station at 5-1180 and have them make an announcement over the PA system.
Spotlight on April Rafael-Adams, Huntsville Center first aid attendant
“My role as a first aid attendant is to make sure the scene is safe, provide aid if required, and notify the proper officials (911) of the location, what has happened and the number of people injured. I volunteered the first time, more than 15 years ago, because another employee, Pam McDougal, told me how it felt to help someone. That conversation made me more confident in volunteering and taking the first aid training class. I later had the opportunity to find out for myself by being able to use the skills without even thinking about it, and since then, I’ve been able to help several people. I’m so grateful for the training.”