Can CPR Training Benefit Your Business?
Safety is a top priority in every workplace. Companies invest millions of dollars in ensuring that the working environment is conducive to everyone’s health and well-being. However, the most obvious health hazards are those that don’t involve heavy equipment and natural disasters.
Stress is a prevalent problem among employees in the workplace. It can lead to numerous health issues including sudden cardiac arrests. In the United States alone, almost 326,000 cases of cardiac arrest happen outside hospitals. Only 8% percent survive when given quick and proper treatment.
In the busy workplace, no one knows when disaster strikes. It’s always a race against time to save a colleague suffering from cardiac arrest. Thus, it’s important that everyone in the office knows how to apply first aid and perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or CPR.
What is Cardiac Arrest?
Cardiac Arrest happens when the heart suddenly ceases functioning that can lead to symptoms such as abnormal breathing, loss of consciousness, and even death. What’s alarming about this is that a victim doesn’t necessarily need to have been diagnosed with heart disease. Anyone in your staff is susceptible to cardiac arrest, especially those who are over 40 and engage in stressful environments such as law enforcement, construction work, and emergency medical care.
There is confusion between the terms “cardiac arrest” and “heart attack” that both are often used interchangeably. A heart attack happens when a portion of the heart muscle tissue dies due to the loss of blood supply. This occurs when something blocks the passage of the blood flow.
To be clear, cardiac arrest happens as a result of a heart attack. Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of cardiac arrest. Intense physical activity, major blood loss, lack of oxygen, and low potassium are also regarded as causes although less common.
What is CPR?
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an emergency procedure applied to someone whose heart has stopped beating. It involves timed compressions on the chest to massage the heart while blowing air into the lungs to aid in breathing. Proper training is needed before anyone can administer CPR. Performing the procedure wrongly may result in further harm and injury for the patient.
Performing CPR can make sure that the brain receives a small supply of oxygen and blood until proper medical help arrives. CPR can prevent damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood. Without this life-saving procedure, a person suffering from cardiac arrest might die within the next 8 to 10 minutes.
Why Your Employees Need CPR Training?
As much as we want to keep a safe workplace, we’ll never know when an employee becomes susceptible to cardiac arrest. You can’t look after your staff’s lifestyle outside the workplace and there is no guarantee that everyone is kept away from health issues. Thus, it’s important that your employees know what to do in case a co-worker suffers from cardiac arrest.
Your employees need to be certified with CPR training in the workplace because:
- It saves lives:
A person suffering from cardiac arrest needs immediate help. A nearby colleague who knows how to administer CPR could spell the difference between life and death.
- It raises awareness among your employees:
Bringing CPR training in the workplace not only makes it easier for employees to comply with safety standards, it also raises awareness among your staff on the importance of healthy living. It also fosters responsibility for one another, making sure that they look out for each other and be equipped with the necessary skills to save a life.
- It saves millions of dollars in insurance:
A death in the workplace would mean financial reparations for the victim’s family. With just a small investment for CPR and AED training, a company can prevent deaths in the workplace and save money from insurance.
- It’s convenient for your employees:
Employees are more comfortable to learn CPR in an environment they are used to rather than sending them to a hospital for training, saving money in reimbursements for meal and transportation.
What to expect in a CPR certification class?
Most CPR certification classes are done within a single day in groups of 8 to 12 people. Classes may take 2 to 4 hours which includes both the hands-on activities and the written exams for the certification.
Manuals and handouts are provided in every class including tools such as mouth shields, wet wipes, and medical gloves. A certified instructor walks everyone through the basics of CPR with the use of a manikin (dummy), demonstrating the proper techniques. Instructional videos are also shown to provide supplementary learning for possible scenarios and problems one might face in an emergency.
The latter part of the classes are reserved for practical courses where the trainees are given the opportunities to perform CPR on adult and child manikins. Most trainees are often surprised at how forceful they perform the chest compressions or how difficult to get the rhythm.
The practical sessions are designed to get the trainees comfortable and learn from their mistakes. Most manikins are designed with sensors to indicate errors in the technique and allow the instructors to provide real-time feedback.
Once all the trainees had been given the opportunity to practice on manikins, a written exam is administered to gauge what they have learned. A CPR certification card is awarded to trainees who pass the written exams. In case a trainee gave too many incorrect answers, an instructor sits with them to review their answers and may allow them to retake the exam.
Depending on the type of class, in addition to basic CPR trainees may also be taught:
- First Aid – This includes typical care and bandaging techniques for cuts, sprains, and burns. Trainees are also taught how to move an injured or unconscious victim properly, how to make sure that an area is safe after an accident, and how to properly call for help.
- Abdominal Thrusts (aka Heimlich maneuver) – Trainees are taught to recognize if a person is choking and in need of immediate assistance. They are also taught the proper way to apply abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) on infants, children, and adults.
- Use of an AED – Aside from the basics of CPR, employees must also be trained to use an AED in case of sudden cardiac arrest. AED’s, or Automated External Defibrillators, are portable electronic devices that can diagnose irregularities in heartbeat (arrhythmia) and quivers in the heart muscles (ventricular fibrillation).
AED’s can also be used for defibrillation, the application of electricity to stop the arrhythmia and allow the heart to return to its normal beating rhythm. The proper use of an AED together with effective CPR can double or triple the chance of any victim’s survival.
Studies show that defibrillation on the first few minutes of cardiac arrest can give a 90% chance of a heart’s patient pumping on its own even before emergency services arrive.
CPR training as a worthy investment
Proper knowledge and training can promote a safe environment and save lives. Let’s put value on the workforce who keep our businesses running and arm them with the necessary skills to look out for each other’s well-being.
Contact Premium CPR for the very finest CPR Training and Certification in the Houston Texas area!