How To Save The Life Of A Glassman or Glasslady!

Many options here.

1.  Obtain a five million dollar contract with 60% margin.

2.  Magically, reduce your workers’ comp costs by 80%.

3.  Install a $1200 Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED) machine in your office or plant.

Last week I attended an AED training class, and did I learn a lot.  One out of eight Americans will be invlved in seeing a person suffer a sudden cardiac event.  There were thirty folks at this training, from 10 to 80 yers old, and this statistic was proven right!  Do you know what to do when a person passes out from a cardiac event?

When an adult passes out with no apparaent reason (maybe ecsatcy when the Mets win the World Series), the odds are it is a cardiac event.  Here’s what you do:

1. Shake the person trying to awake them.  Ask in a loud, demonstrative voice, “Are you OK?”  If you get no response, then:
2. Call 911, or better yet, tell another bystander to call 911.  Even if you have to run to a phone that is a minute away, do it.
3. If you have an AED, even a minute away, get it, open the box, and set it up.
4. Follow the voice prompt instructions that come with all modern AED’s.  These instructions will tell you exactly what to do, based on the readings the AED will take of the person lying down.
5. If you don’t have an AED, after you have called 911 start rapid compressions of the chest, commonly called CPR.  You want to move the breastbone about 2″ in each compression.  Let the chest rise and start over.  You want to do about 100 compressions per minute.  This does help.  Don’t be afraid to push hard.  A broken rib is better than no broken rib and the person dies.  No matter how strong you are, even a little compression of the chest is better than none. 
6. CPR is extremely physical.  Most people can only do it for a minute or two.  Current CPR technique does not include breathing into the victim’s mouth.  Pushing the blood through the system, through CPR, will cause air to come in to the victim.

Think about this, one in eight Americans will be involved in a cardiac event sometime in their life.  The odds are that you, or someone in your glass shop will assist a cardiac victim.

Now, my litle direction on how to do this is woefully lacking compared to getting proper training from a medical proffessional or an EMT.  I’m only telling you what takes place so you can see how easy it is to save a life.  When you buy the AED from a reliable seller, they should arrange for you to get the proper training.  If you are unsure, go to your local ambulance company or fire station for a quick lesson.  And still, the best choice is to take a full safety course with the Red Cross.

All companies should have at least one person who has taken a complete safety course on each shift worked.

You can search AED on the web to learn a lot more.  You’ll find plenty of stores that sell these life-saving wonders.  Try to work with one close to your location if possible.

Twelve hundred bucks, 3 hours of professional training, and now, you have the opportunity to save a glassman’s life.