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Hacks for Dealing with Medical Emergencies

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Your staff should be trained in basic CPR and first aid including identifying common medical emergencies like seizures, heart attacks, or strokes. Space Hacks can not list every potential scenario in which someone might need to have 911 called or go to the hospital. However, staff should be trained to identify life-threatening emergencies so that they can respond effectively, should an emergency arise. Listed here are three of the most common medical emergencies and instructions for what to do. There is more information about their symptoms in the section on overamp.

Cardiac Arrest

  • Call 911 immediately and/or go to an emergency room right away BEFORE a person’s heart stops.
  • If the person loses consciousness / their heart stops perform CPR (100-120 chest compressions per minute) or use a portable defibrillator where available.

Seizure

  • Stay with the person until the seizure is over.
  • Make sure the person is in a safe position—on one side is optimal.
  • Remove anything hard or sharp from around them.
  • Remove any extraneous clothing like ties, scarves or eyewear.
  • Put something soft under the person’s head- a pillow or rolled up jacket.
  • Call 911 if:
    • It is the person’s first seizure
    • The seizure lasts more than 5 minutes
    • They have multiple seizures in a short period of time, and/or
    • And/or the person has difficulty breathing.

Stroke

  • First double check your observation:
    • Ask them to smile, does one side of their mouth droop?
    • Ask them to raise both arms, does one drift down?
    • Is their speech impaired?
    • If you note any of these symptoms call 911 immediately!
  • Note what time you notice symptoms started, medical staff need this information for treatment.
  • Do not allow the person to go to sleep.
  • Do not allow the person to drive.
  • If possible, wait for emergency services, but even if the person insists, make sure they do not drive under any circumstances.

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