Emergency Plans, Teams, Services

Medical Emergency

Protect people from further harm and get medical help fast: diabetic, cardiac, epileptic and respiratory emergencies are most common.

 

Procedures:

  1. Determine if the person is conscious,
    • Ask them if they are OK,
    • If they do not respond - gently shake them and ask,
    • If they do not respond - determine if they are breathing (check for rise in chest with inhalations) - call 911

    If they are unconscious and not breathing - call 911 (follow directions) and get assistance from others,

    • If trained in CPR, perform airway clearance and rescue breaths,
    • If not trained in CPR, the dispatcher will talk you through it,
    • Send someone to direct EMS to your location.
  2. If they do not have a pulse - call 911 and follow directions from the dispatcher; send someone to meet EMS and get them to your location quickly.
    • If trained in CPR, perform airway clearance and rescue breaths,
    • If not trained in CPR, the dispatcher will talk you through it,
    • Send someone to direct EMS to your location.

Injuries and bleeding - call Public Safety and give first aid until help arrives. Use First Aid Kits and gloves on all open injuries.

 

Seizure First Aid:

From the CDC web page

About 1 out of 10 people has had a seizure. That means seizures are common, and one day you might need to help someone during or after a seizure.

Learn what you can do to keep that person safe until the seizure stops by itself.

* Call LBCC Public Safety immediately to help assess the situation and administer first aid if needed.

First aid for generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures:

When most people think of a seizure, they think of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, also called a grand mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the person may cry out, fall, shake or jerk, and become unaware of what’s going on around them.

Here are things you can do to help someone who is having this type of seizure:

* First aid for any type of seizure:

There are many types of seizures. Most seizures end in a few minutes. These are general steps to help someone who is having any type seizure:

  • Ease the person to the floor.
  • Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. This can prevent injury.
  • Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under his or her head.
  • Remove eyeglasses.
  • Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make it hard to breathe.
  • Time the seizure. [If there was not injury; caused by the initiation of the seizure – such as hitting the head  hard on the floor or another object, 911 is usually not called initially. Call 911 if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes or the person is injured during the seizure.]

First aid for seizures involves keeping the person safe until the seizure stops by itself

  • Stay with the person until the seizure ends and he or she is fully awake.
  • Turn the person gently onto one side. This will help the person breathe and cause any fluids to drain from the mouth.
  • After it ends and the person is able to sit up, help the person sit in a safe place. Once they are alert and able to communicate, tell them what happened in very simple terms.
  • Comfort the person and speak calmly.
  • Check to see if the person is wearing or a medical bracelet or other emergency information.
  • Keep yourself and other people calm.
  • Offer to call a taxi or another person to make sure the person gets home safely.

Video demonstration showing seizure response protocol.

Call 911 if:

  • The person has never had a seizure before.
  • The person has difficulty breathing or waking after the seizure.
  • The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.
  • The person has another seizure soon after the first one.
  • The person is hurt during the seizure.
  • The seizure happens in water.
  • The person has a health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or is pregnant

LBCC Public Safety will help make this assessment for you.

Seizures are fairly common on campus. Some students and/or staff have seizure protocols on file specifying whether or not to call 911 and who they do want us to call.