I have seen many emergency plans that consist of:
Call 911.
Yes. Call 911.
But that is not an emergency plan.
Its a part of an emergency plan.
When creating your safety plan ask yourself:
What are we going to do between when the incident occurs and when our EMS personnel are at the patients side?
There are many things that happen before EMS arrives to a patient.
Who identifies the incident?
Who calls 911?
Who is staying with the patient?
Who is getting the AED?
Who is meeting our EMS?
Who knows where the nearest EMS accessible entrance is?
Who will control the scene/crowd?
What if they don't want to go to the hospital?
What if its not a medical emergency? They're having a mental health crisis.
What if the incident occurs in an area our ambulance can't access?
These are some questions to consider when creating your emergency plan.
What are you trying to prepare for?
Having an idea of what you may come across will help you prepare.
Depending on what type of event you're having there are certain things to expect.
For example: If you're hosting a community event you may want to consider these:
Heat stroke
Dehydration
Fall
Lacerations/Blood loss
Allergic reaction
Overdose
Panic attack/sensory overload
Mental health crisis
Missing child/adult
Weather
Heart attack
When thinking about your workplace you may want to consider injuries associated with that job as well as any other medical emergencies that can occur.
Schools/community centers may have a different list.
Just have an idea of what could happen in your area and what you can prepare for.
Know what your personnel will do
Having first aid supplies does not mean your prepared.
Someone has fallen down and passed out.
Everyone is looking at each other.
"Oh call 911!"
"Oh I thought you did."
No ones sure where our AED is located.
The one person that knows where the first aid kit is is currently on break.
Several people are standing around the patient wanting to help but no one knows what to do.
Having an emergency plan will allow your staff to know what they need to do.
You may not want to assign a task to a certain person. But your staff/volunteers should know what they need to do when an emergency occurs.
Call for help.
Stay with the patient.
Get the necessary supplies.
May need to meet EMS.
Help control the area around the patient and keep them private.
If you have a larger event you may already have this in place. Just make sure your staff know what to do if an emergency were to occur.
Where are your emergency supplies?
Sounds simple right?
Well not always.
Where is your first aid kit?
Where is your AED?
Where is your naloxone?
Who can access these items?
Do your staff know where these items are?
Are they easy to find?
Are they locked away?
Can they get to them quickly?
Are they fully stocked?
If your AED is nowhere to be found you will have trouble helping someone that's in cardiac arrest.
Same goes for your first aid kit.
Make sure you know where your EMS can access your facility
This is something you want to know BEFORE EMS shows up.
Where do you want your EMS to park?
Is your main entrance the best entrance to bring a stretcher in through?
Stairs? Gates that are locked? People? Tight areas? Construction? Maybe your event takes over most of a city block.
Do you have multiple entrances that look similar?
Will they know where to come in when they arrive to your location?
Having a plan that tells your EMS how to get to the patient will be very helpful.
As mentioned above we like to have someone meet our EMS at the entrance of our facilities when at an event. This will help them get to the patient faster.
Accessibility should play a role in your emergency plan.
Just because you have an accessible building does not mean your emergency plan is accessible.
How will someone with a wheelchair evacuate?
What if they can't hear an announcement?
See signs? Process information in a stressful environment? Communicate verbally?
What about their service animal?
Do you have an accessible evacuation area?
Can your plan accommodate someone with a disability?
Not all incidents require you to call 911.
There will be times where you need to call 911 and there will be times where you don't.
Maybe they're having a panic attack/ sensory overload. Grieving. Dissociating. There are many reasons someone may need assistance without calling 911.
They may be intoxicated and need assistance or may just need someone to monitor them.
Someone may be suicidal and need to be evaluated. Someone may be passively suicidal. Knowing the difference can help you decide if you need to call 911.
Your plan should allow your staff to know when someone needs assistance vs calling 911.
Communicate with your attendees/staff.
People will want to know what's going on. Where to go. If the event will continue. Do we need to evacuate? Where do families meet. Who will be speaking to staff? Attendees? Who is allowed to speak about the incident. How can we keep the patient private but inform others of what's going on.
Even if your emergency is not taking place facility wide. It's good to have a communication plan.
Other things to consider
Having extra water on hand. A quiet space for someone who may feel ill. What will you do if a staff member becomes injured. Do your volunteers know how to fill out an incident report. Where will these reports be stored. Who will refill your first aid kits after an incident occurs. Will you check the weather if your having an outside event. When will you cancel an activity if its too hot/cold etc.
Practice your emergency plan.
You don't have to do this often but its good to know what your emergency plan is before it happens. You can ask your staff what would happen if someone fell over here. Where is our AED? Who will call 911. What entrance will EMS use. What if the elevator broke. The person is in a wheelchair. What if the incident happened outside?
Chances are you'll run into problems when practicing your plan. That's ok you found them before it happened.
Have a plan that works for you.
There is no generic emergency plan that you can plug into your facility and expect it to work. Every location is different. Having an office with 50 employees will have different needs than having an emergency plan for pride.
Your yoga studio will have different needs than your school. Out doors vs indoors. You may have security/medical on site and an AED. Your facility may not have those resources.
Create a plan that fits your facility.
This is what we like to focus on when it comes to emergency preparedness at EQUIP Medical. Not only do we have an emergency plan but can our staff utilize it?
This resource is for general education and does not replace legal advice, regulatory guidance, professional emergency management services, or individualized medical advice.
