SPOKANE, Wash — This week marks the 50th anniversary of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Week, which is dedicated to honoring and thanking the entire EMS profession.
That’s why Nonstop Local spoke with the Head of Trauma at Deaconess in Spokane about ways to help someone before first responders arrive.
According to Jaclyn Numata, if you see someone who needs help, the first two things you need to do are make sure you are safe and then call 911. If you are alone you must be the one to call 911. If you are in a group, specifically pick one person to call and ensure help gets notified.
After following those steps, there are some ways you can help, depending on their injuries.
If you see someone bleeding, there are two basic strategies that you can use without equipment: direct pressure and wound packing.
If you are dealing with a smaller wound, start with direct pressure. If you have gauze, great. If not, use some fabric, put it on the wound, apply hand-over-hand pressure and use your body weight to stop the bleeding.
If you see a deeper wound, direct pressure may not be enough, so you can pack the wound with a cloth until it fills up.
Do not touch the injury directly with your hand. Slowly pack the cloth until the wound is full, then apply direct pressure until help arrives.
You can take several classes to learn emergency first aid. Numata says these classes save lives.
“There’s really nothing more tragic than a death that was unnecessary,” said Numata. “So, anyone willing to get the training, we thank you…”
But what if you see someone lying unconscious but not bleeding? Numata says to check to see if they are breathing and if they have a pulse.
If they are breathing, you will feel air coming out of their mouth/nose, and their chest will rise and fall.
To check the pulse, you put two fingers next to the trachea (the big tube at the front of the throat), and if you don’t feel a pulse, start CPR immediately.
You will want to use both hands, placing your palms about the nipple line in the sternum. Lock out your arms and do 100-120 compressions per minute, or about 2 per second, going about 2 inches deep each time.
Numata says it’s common to break ribs while doing CPR, but you have to keep going because you could be saving their life. If you forget what you need to do, let the 911 operator guide you through the process.
“Put your phone on speaker, let the dispatchers walk you through,” said Numata. “Listen to what they’re saying, they’re highly trained, they can help you. Just know EMS will be there soon to take over.”
Numata recommends anyone who can should take emergency first aid classes. If you are interested, visit the following links:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cprhttps://www.stopthebleed.org/training/online-course/
