22 Tips to Help You Prepare for a Medical Emergency

At Work

For some, the workplace may be a home away from home. Just as you want to short-circuit medical emergencies at home and when you travel, here are some suggestions for avoiding them at work.

• Prepare a list of emergency contacts for colleagues in your department or section. Include names, addresses, email addresses, cellphone numbers and day and evening phone numbers.
  
  
• If you have a chronic medical condition such as heart disease or
  diabetes, consider telling a trusted colleague and providing
  instructions about what to do in an emergency.

• Encourage your employer to provide a first aid course and CPR training for all employees.

• Be sure the office has a readily available AED (automated external defibrillator) to use in the event of sudden cardiac arrest, a condition where the heart abruptly stops beating. AEDs send an electric shock to the heart to restore normal rhythm and greatly increase chances of survival.

• Keep a fully stocked first aid kit where you can get to it easily. Replace supplies as they're used.

• Know the location of fire extinguishers and learn how to use them.

Sources: American College of Emergency Physicians, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Heart Association, Poison Prevention.org

Nissa Simon is a freelance writer who lives in New Haven, Conn.

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