Chapter 1
If Not You
……Who?
Emergencies
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Emergency – a situation demanding
immediate action
2 types:
1. Sudden Illness- heart attack, severe allergic
reaction
2. Injury- damage to body from an external
force; broken bone from a fall
Emergencies
1.
2.
Life threatening emergency – an illness or
injury that impairs a victim’s ability to
circulate oxygenated blood to all parts of the
body.
Non-life threatening emergency – doesn’t
fail to circulate oxygenated blood, but still
requires medical attention.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
System
a network of community resources and
medical personnel that provides emergency
care to victims of injury or sudden illness.
Who is involved:
*Lay Responders – you
*EMS Call Taker – takes the call and
determines what help is needed
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EMS System
*EMR(1st Responder) – trained to give a higher level of
care could be firefighters, police, lifeguards & Lay
person.
*Emergency Medical Technicians – EMT’s
trained medical professionals who are dispatched to
an emergency by the call taker
3 levels
a) EMT - Basic training to assess a victim’s
condition and care for both life threatening
and non-life threatening emergencies
EMS System
b) AEMT- more advanced
training; administering medications and
intravenous fluids
c) Paramedics: highly specialized
emergency medical technicians; can
administer drugs, and intravenous fluids,
provide advanced airway care and perform
other advanced lifesaving techniques.
Primary Role of Lay Responder
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Recognize that an emergency exists
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Unusual noises: screaming, breaking glass, crashing metal,
screeching tires
Unusual sights: broken glass, spilled medicine container,
downed electrical wires, smoke, fire
Unusual odors: gasoline fumes, smoke, odors that are
stronger than usual
Unusual behaviors: unconsciousness, confused, trouble
breathing, clutching chest or throat, slurred speech, inability
to move body parts, sweating for no apparent reason
Primary Role of Lay Responder
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Decide to Act: sometimes people are
reluctant to act (barriers to action)
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Presence of bystanders- Someone Else Will take
Over
Uncertainty about the victim (do not know them)
Nature of the injury or illness
Fear of disease transmission
Fear of not knowing what to do or of doing
something wrong
Unsure of when to call 9-1-1
Fear of Being Sued
Primary Role of Lay Responder
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How you can use bystanders to help
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Call, meet and direct the ambulance
Direct traffic
Give first aid
Go for additional supplies
Give comfort to others on the scene
Supply important information about victim or
scene
Primary Role of Lay Responder

Taking action by calling 9-1-1 or local emergency
number (get professional help a.s.a.p.)
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Give name, phone # and address of emergency (cross
streets)
# of victims
Nature of injury
Care being given
Let EMS hang up first
* Give Care until medical help arrives
Give appropriate Care until medical help arrives.
Stop Only when:
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Obvious signs of life
Another trained responders takes over
You are too exhausted to continue
The scene becomes unsafe
Person becomes conscious and ask for you
to stop
Incident Stress – Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder
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See page 11 for all signals
Preparing for an Emergency
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Keep important information handy
Keep medical & insurance records up-to-date
Know local emergency # (if not 911)
Teach children how to call 911
Have first aid kit available and re-stocked
Learn CPR skills & First aid
Make house numbers easy to read
Wear Medical ID if you have medical
conditions