What would you do?

 

I worked in an office for almost 4 decades. There were injuries with sharp objects but no collapses that I saw. I’d heard of other people in different departments fainting and the solution was to call Smitty. He was a production supervisor who was also an EMT in the county. He brought his tool box of gaze and thermometers to work and at a moment’s notice would rush to the scene of the accident or medical emergency and apply his assistance until the ambulance arrived.

Having Smitty available to call was good, but I wondered the legality of having an associate perform unrequested life-saving techniques on an employee? Even if the ambulance comes and hauls the patient away but they die in the hospital, who could the family sue for neglect? If the employee had died on the floor in the office, whether Smitty was there or not, should limit the cause of death? If even the most empathic person attempts to ease the suffering, did they do more harm than good?

I know some who will read this have been professionally trained and experienced in rescuing life in an accident while the rest of us will just stare at their magic.

I was a life guard. I was taught basic CPR from a navy medic. Chest compressions and two quick breathes into a mouth. It made since because if someone was drowning and the person with a whistle around their neck dragged the body out of the water, as an authoritarian figure needed to do something rather than stand around looking at the limp body on the beach. Fold the arms over the head and turn the face to clear the swallowed water. How long can you do compressions until the ambulance arrives?

Later, in the workplace, I was given instructions (as a supervisor) to the latest CPR method without locking lips. It makes sense that employers want to make the effort to show their attempts of empathy for the employee, other than health insurance and a first aid kit on the wall with band aids and aspirin, but what liability does the company take to imply a 15-minute session from Human Resources can save a life?

Later, a defibrillation machine training was given to managers, as if someone fell to the floor clutching their chest, we were to jump into action assuming they were having a heart attack, order the machine be pulled off the wall next to the elevator on every floor, and take over effort to maintain life until the REAL EMTs arrive.

The employee’s shirt is torn open (gender not withstanding – this is no time for modesty) and the machine turn on (with the battery hopefully charged) and place paddles on the skin in the correct position to shock the body back into 60 – 100 beat rhythm. Who has the statoscope and a stopwatch to measure the effort? Who is taking the pulse?

This person might have pre-existing health problems? Health and disability are personal and human resources must be careful in sharing this information with potential employer. There are also laws and requirements for access and disability adjustments that will no deflate the companies profit from hiring a suitable candidate.

If an applicant has a health issue that may cause them to go into seizure or collapse at any moment during the shift, what should their supervisor know or be prepared for it? A smoker is allowed to take numerous breaks from work to harm themselves. There are even rooms set aside for these guys to gather and fill the special filtration system with smoke. Should this behavior be agreed upon employment as a disability or an addiction? How will the corporation expand the bottle in the bottom draw or the worker found limp in the bathroom with a needle in their arm?

If the person working at the next desk, arrive on time but then starts crying. What is your responsibility to ask questions or expect a supervisor to note the questionable behavior and call the worker aside to cure the problem? Many associates will be opening to share their personal problems but don’t expect their ‘friends’ to solve a divorce or distributive marriage or wayward child or monetary problems.

What if, you decide to have some friends over for a few drinks and one falls on the floor? What is your responsibility as a host to guarantee their existence while on your property? If there is blood, do you drag the body onto the kitchen floor to save the carpet? Of course, you call 911 (used to be dial O for the operator to understand what the problem was and contact the appropriate assistance – give precise directions for there was no digital direction device yet) and put a towel you can waste on the open wound while everyone stands around and ponders?

Today, I was squeezed between two cars, one pulling out and the other driving in and I was in the middle. There was no place to pull out to escape and I could have been the next number on the board of two-wheelers who just get in the way of drivers. I could have been smooshed again the wall of the grocery with no recourse or excuse for pedaling in this jammed parking lot.

As you can tell, I survived another day and made it back home before the arctic blast. Tomorrow, ticky-tacky will shut down teen influences, the shooting will stop in the middle east and Monday a a president will swore back in on another MLK holiday and the trash removal will take a break.

What would you do?