Several years ago, one of my colleagues walked out of his office and collapsed on the floor in front of me. I had no idea what was wrong. Several people rushed to the scene, but all we could do was call 911 and wait for an ambulance to arrive. It was a terrible, helpless feeling. As it turned out, he had pneumonia.
Based on this—and a few other similar experiences—we created a “First Responders” program at our company about a year ago. We wanted to provide selected employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to act in an emergency situation. The role of our First Responders is “to sustain life, reduce pain, and minimize the consequences of an injury or sudden illness until more advanced medical help can arrive.”The First Responders receive 48 hours of company-paid training through the American Red Cross. We currently have twelve trained First Responders throughout the company. These include Brian Gronberg, Chad Dainty, Cindy Johnson, Debbie Eicholtz, Freddie Rivera, Geneva McGee, Janet Sanders, Keith Gibbons, Kristen Parrish, Lori Gliko, Paula Satterfield, and Toni Thompson.
The original group (Paula, Lori, Debbie, and Geneva) were trained and certified three years ago. The additional eight were trained within the last year.
As the company’s CEO, I am deeply grateful for our First Responders. They are not receiving additional compensation. They are simply doing this out of their commitment to the company, their love for their fellow-employees, and their interest in this field. Frankly, I rest much better knowing that we have trained people ready and available should an emergency occur.
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I’ve come to the conclusion that if I weren’t a writer, I’d be a doctor. I love medical stuff, especially info for wellness over just treating conditions with drugs. I research everything incessantly. Fabulous editor Ami McConnell once told me if I told her to cut off her leg to save her life, she’d do it. LOL
So my contribution is usually health advice. If I were actually working in the TN offices instead of in my chair writing, I’d be one of those First Responders!
Now granted, friends may not WANT my advice, but I’m a mom so I give it anyway! LOL
When trained as a First Responder (on my own initiative, back in the 80′s), I almost immediately found myself in a situation that required much more skill. I then pursued training as an EMT (at my own expense), and have often found myself in situations which called upon those skills in a capacity for which the only compensation is gratitude.
As a servant of the Lord, I now aspire to remain prepared with the Gospel of peace and dependence on God’s Spirit, sensitively ready to respond with His direction in any situtation He divinely appoints.
Thanks for putting together this video!
It does give me a sense of security knowing that we have people in our building who are trained in this way.
Also, it was fun to play a role in their training by getting our blood pressure taken regularly while they were learning that skill. It helped us get to know the first responders better and made us feel like we were part of the learning process, too.
Trained First Responders for a large staff—that’s a GREAT idea and I am passing it on to my supervisor and our organization’s president.
My “extra” contribution is one that just happened. I guess one could say it is being an accessible history depository. I have been a member of our organization so long and then a member of the staff at HQ so long that I’ve turned into a depository of answers to questions that start out, “Who do we know that is blind and does ___ job?” and “What do we know about this organization’s interactions with ours?” I admire your First Responders for being so proactive in creating added value.
Great post! I work for a company that ensures at least one person in each area is trained in CPR and basic wound care ect… I was certified just this year.
I think it’s an awesome idea!
This should be a mandate EVERYWHERE. And years ago, I’d solicited my daughter’s middle school to incorporate/teach their students during gym class; adult, infant and child CPR and although only ages eleven through fourteen, the students have kept their certifications up-to-date and thus landed high-paying babysitting jobs!
I am a trained First Responder and always told the companies that I consulted with that I was always available to help in an emergency. The company I am now working for pays for any staff member that wants CPR and AED certifications.