1. LESSON 1
PREPARING TO ACT
1-1

2. First Aid Training is Important
Can happen to anyone, any time
Injury and sudden illness require immediate attention
Life or well being often depends on first aid
1-2

3. What is First Aid?
Immediate help given to victim of injury or sudden illness
Help given before victim sees health care provider
Help typically given by friend, family member, co-worker or bystander
Help given using minimal or no medical equipment
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4. Primary Goals of First Aid
Keep victim alive
Prevent victim’s condition from getting worse
Help promote early recovery
Ensure victim receives appropriate medical care
1-4

5. The Need for First Aid
Heart disease is the most common cause of death, resulting in about 616,000 deaths a year
Over 1,250,000 heart attacks occur, resulting in over 132,000 deaths
About 795,000 people a year have a stroke, resulting in about 136,000 deaths
About 124,200 die from unintentional injuries
About 39 million visits are made to emergency departments because of injuries
1-5

6. Deciding to Help Common Concerns-barriers to action
Worried about not doing right thing
Think someone else will provide better care
Not sure it is an emergency
Upset by sight of blood or injury
Worried about catching a disease
1-6

7. Stay Prepared to Help Know appropriate first aid Be confident
Have a first aid kit
Know and other emergency numbers
Teach children to call not 9-eleven
Make others aware of medical conditions
1-7

8. Emergency Medical Service System
Dispatcher
Receives call, gathers information, sends help
Emergency medical responders
First to arrive and take over care
EMTs/paramedics
Give more advanced care and transport victim
1-8

9. When to Call 9-1-1 Victim may have life-threatening condition
Victim is unresponsive
Victim’s condition may become life-threatening
Moving victim could make condition worse
Do not transport the victim yourself
1-9

10. Call 9-1-1 Unresponsive or AMS Not breathing/difficulty breathing
Chest pain/discomfort
Severe bleeding
Head or spine injury
Poisoning/drug overdose
Vomiting blood
Seizures
Severe burn
Drowning
Threatened suicide
Imminent childbirth
1-10

11. Other Reasons to Call 9-1-1
Fire, explosion
Vehicle crash
Downed electrical wire
Chemical spill, gas leak, unknown substances present
Swiftly moving or rapidly rising water
1-11

12. When You Call 9-1-1 Have this information ready:
Your name and phone number you are using
The location and number of victims
What happened/special circumstances
Victim’s condition
Victim’s sex and approximate age
What is being done for victim(s)
1-12

13. Can You Be Sued? Not if you: Act only as you are trained to act.
Get a victim’s consent before giving first aid.
Do not move a victim unnecessarily.
Call for professional help.
Keep giving care until help arrives.
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14. Good Samaritan Laws Protect you:
When acting in an emergency, voluntarily and without compensation
When acting as a reasonable, prudent person with the same training would act
When performing first aid only as trained
If you do not abandon the victim after starting to give care
..\..\Kenny\FA Stuff\Washington Laws 1975.doc
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15. Must You Give First Aid? Usually not as a bystander
May feel an ethical or moral obligation
Legal obligations:
If you start first aid, you must continue
If first aid is included in your job
If you are responsible for a child
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16. Consent Responsive victim must give consent
Tell person your training and what you will do to help
1-16

17. Implied Consent Unresponsive victim assumed to give consent
Consent assumed for child needing first aid if parent/guardian not present
1-17

18. Refusal of Care Competent adult has right to refuse care
May not be competent because of:
Intoxication
Influence of drug
Altered mental status from injury or diabetic emergency
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19. Refusal of Care continued
If victim refuses:
Call 9-1-1
Keep talking but do not argue
Ensure there is a witness to the refusal
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20. Scope of Care Perform only the techniques in which you are trained
Trying anything else may make you legally liable
1-20

21. Negligence May be negligent only if three conditions exist:
You have a duty to act
You breach that duty
Your actions (or inactions) cause injury or damage
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22. Examples of Negligence
Moving a victim unnecessarily
Doing something you have not been trained to do
Failing to give first aid as you have been trained
1-22

23. Abandonment Once you start, don’t stop!
Another person with the same or higher level of training may take over
Stay with victim until help arrives
If you leave and injury/illness becomes worse this is abandonment
1-23

24. Stopping Care Justified instances of stopping care:
Exhausted and unable to continue
Being in imminent danger
1-24

25. Confidentiality Never give out private information about victim
Unless it is to health care professionals who are caring for victim
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26. Being Prepared
Teach children how to call for help as soon as can use phone
Keep emergency phone #’s and contacts by your phone or in first aid kit
Have an up-to-date first aid kid at your home, workplace, and automobile (page 7)
Learn and practice first aid and CPR skills

27. Scenario
A motorcycle with two riders weaves dangerously between parked cars in a crowded shopping center parking lot. As the cyclists dart between cars, they confront a moving car. Both the car and cycle veer to avoid a head-on collision. The cycle strikes the side of the oncoming car, throwing the riders to the ground. The car stops abruptly, throwing the driver into the windshield.
Nearby, Jamie and Paul (two college students) hear the sound of crunching metal and blaring horns and decide to join the small group of bystanders. As they approach the scene, they are confronted with the sight of broken glass, strewn metal and a cracked windshield. A gas cap lies nearby, and they notice what appears to be gasoline, which has spilled from the motorcycle onto the roadway. One victim screams in pain as she sits holding her injured arm. The other victim lies motionless.

28. Two people wearing safety belts are inside the stopped car
Two people wearing safety belts are inside the stopped car. The driver appears to be shaken. Several onlookers turn away, apparently unable to cope with what they see. Other bystanders continue to gather. As Jamie and Paul look around, no one seems to be helping. They hesitate, wondering whether they should step forward to help.
What would you do?