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74-775: Also called an Emergency Medical Responder , Emergency First Responder , Medical First Responder , or First Responder . Many options are available in order to become a certified First Responder in Canada . Courses are offered by many sources including the Canadian Red Cross , and St. John Ambulance , and the Department of National Defence . Certified First Responder courses in Canada are separated into either "First Responder" or "Emergency Medical Responder" level courses. "First Responder" level courses are between 40 and 60 hours in length and

148-586: A bag valve mask , oral airway, nasal airway, supplemental oxygen administration, suctioning, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), manual stabilization of fractures, and assisting in the administration of basic medications such as epinephrine auto-injectors, oral glucose, and inhalers. They are also trained in packaging, moving and transporting patients. First Responders can serve as secondary providers with some volunteer EMS services. An Emergency Medical Responder can be seen either as an advanced first aid provider, or as

222-403: A Duty to Act. While Certified First Responders in general are not required to render aid to injured/ill persons, those who work in the aforementioned areas can be accused of and prosecuted for negligence if they fail to respond when notified of a medical emergency, if their care does not meet the standard to which they were trained, or their care exceeds their scope of practice and causes harm to

296-419: A foundation, club, association, or government agency. The next level of certification in emergency response is Emergency Medical Technician Basic (EMT-B). Training for EMR level must be done through an approved training. Most provincial hospitals provide training or are directly connected with teaching the training. EMR is a 50-hour course. The National Institute for Emergency Medicine of Thailand acts as

370-478: A full EMT-Basic course. The First Responder training program began in 1979 as an outgrowth of the "Crash Injury Management" course. In 1995 the D.O.T. issued a manual for an intermediate level of training called "First Responder." This training can be completed in twenty-four to sixty hours. Importantly, this training can be conducted by an EMT-Basic with some field experience—which is a resource available "in-house" for many volunteer fire departments who do not have

444-641: A limited provider of emergency medical care when more advanced providers have not yet arrived or are not available. Skillwise, a certified first responder in the US is often trained and allowed to do most of what an emergency medical technician is allowed to. Some exceptions in some jurisdictions include insertion of King airways or combi-tubes, traction splinting, and administration of nebulized albuterol. The National Fire Protection Association standards 1006 and 1670 state that all "rescuers" must have medical training to perform any technical rescue operation, including cutting

518-669: A medical context, certified first responder is an individual who has received certification to provide pre-hospital care in a certain jurisdiction. A community first responder is a person dispatched to attend medical emergencies until an ambulance arrives. A wilderness first responder is trained to provide pre-hospital care in remote settings who has skills relevant to ad hoc patient care and transport by non-motorized means. Public Works departments are also recognized as First Responders as they are generally called to clean up natural disasters, plow snow and maintain roads as well as provide rescue support in extreme weather scenarios. The use of

592-449: A medical team that includes a physician , a nurse and an emergency medical technician (called " SMUR "). The intermediate scale, the firefighter nurse ( infirmier sapeur-pompier , ISP), is only a recent evolution and is performed by nurses who have been specially trained acting with emergency protocols; these nurses are the French equivalent of paramedics . The arrival of first responders

666-528: A nearby AED defibrillator should be used on the patient as soon as possible. As a general reference, defibrillation is preferred to performing CPR, but only if the AED can be retrieved in a short period of time. All these tasks (calling by phone, getting an AED, and the chest compressions and rescue breaths maneuvers of CPR) can be distributed between many rescuers who make them simultaneously. The defibrillator itself would indicate if more CPR maneuvers are required. As

740-519: A patient involved. The first responder training is considered a bare minimum for emergency service workers who may be sent out in response to an emergency call . It is almost always required for professional and volunteer firefighters . For example, all firefighters of the New York City Fire Department require a valid CFR-D (Certified First Responder - Defibrillation) certification. The first responder level of emergency medical training

814-578: A patient until more sophisticated help arrived." "The chances are even better that your emergency call will be answered by a police or fire vehicle doing double duty instead of an adequately equipped ambulance and a paramedic trained in 'first responder' care." There were some earlier uses of "first response", though not "first responder", in this sense. They included an article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in March 1972, and another about

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888-464: A pulse), if the victim is a child. It can be difficult to determine the presence or absence of a pulse, so the pulse check has been removed for common providers and should not be performed for more than 10 seconds by healthcare providers. For untrained rescuers helping adult victims of cardiac arrest, it is recommended to perform compression-only CPR (chest compressions hands-only or cardiocerebral resuscitation, without artificial ventilation ), as it

962-445: A rate of 1 breath every 6 to 8 seconds (8–10 ventilations per minute). In all victims, the compression speed is of at least 100 compressions per minute. Recommended compression depth in adults and children is of 5 cm (2 inches), and in infants it is 4 cm (1.6 inches). In adults, rescuers should use two hands for the chest compressions (one on the top of the other), while in children one hand could be enough (or two, adapting

1036-441: A rate of at least 100 to 120 per minute. The rescuer may also provide artificial ventilation by either exhaling air into the subject's mouth or nose ( mouth-to-mouth resuscitation ) or using a device that pushes air into the subject's lungs ( mechanical ventilation ). Current recommendations place emphasis on early and high-quality chest compressions over artificial ventilation; a simplified CPR method involving only chest compressions

1110-497: A slight variation for that sequence, if the rescuer is completely alone with a victim of drowning, or with a child who was already unconscious when the rescuer arrived, the rescuer would do the CPR maneuvers during 2 minutes (approximately 5 cycles of ventilations and compressions); after that, the rescuer would call to emergency medical services, and then it could be tried a search for a defibrillator nearby (the CPR maneuvers are supposed to be

1184-416: A sort of arrhythmia that will stop the heart immediately), it is recommended that someone asks for a defibrillator (because they are quite common in the present time), for trying with it a defibrillation on the already unconscious victim, in case it is successful. Order of defibrillation in a first aid sequence It is recommended calling for emergency medical services before a defibrillation. Afterwards,

1258-511: A sufficient speed and depth of compressions, completely relaxing pressure between compressions, and not ventilating too much. It is unclear if a few minutes of CPR before defibrillation results in different outcomes than immediate defibrillation. A normal CPR procedure uses chest compressions and ventilations (rescue breaths, usually mouth-to-mouth) for any victim of cardiac arrest, who would be unresponsive (usually unconscious or approximately unconscious), not breathing or only gasping because of

1332-460: A wide array of potential emergencies. Due to the high level of stress and uncertainty associated with the position, first responders must maintain physical and mental health. Even with such preparation, first responders experience unique risks of being the first people to aid those with unknown contagions. For example, in 2003 first responders were among the earliest cases of the previously unknown SARS virus, when they cared for patients affected with

1406-414: Is also often required for police officers , rescue squad personnel, and search and rescue personnel. Many first responders have location specific training such as water rescue or mountain rescue and must take advanced courses to be certified (i.e. lifeguard). Many people who do not fall into the earlier mentioned categories seek out or receive this type of training because they are likely to be first on

1480-554: Is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation , or mouth to mouth in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest . It is recommended for those who are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing, for example, agonal respirations . CPR involves chest compressions for adults between 5 cm (2.0 in) and 6 cm (2.4 in) deep and at

1554-551: Is an EMS certification level recognized by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. By 2015, most states recognize the level of Emergency Medical Responder. First Responders in the US can either provide initial emergency care first on the scene (police/fire department/search and rescue) or support Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics. The skills allowed at this level are very similar to an EMT's including bleeding control, positive pressure ventilation with

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1628-752: Is considered the minimum level of training for crews providing medical standby at events, as well as for employment with some private stable transport companies that provide inter-hospital transfer for patients in need of a bed, but are stable and do not require advanced medical care. "Emergency Medical Responder" level courses meet the Paramedic Association of Canada's National Occupational Competency Profile, and those who receive certification at this level can work for Emergency Medical Services in some provinces. The Canadian Ski Patrol , St. John Ambulance Patient Care Divisions, Fire Departments , Campus Emergency Response Teams, few private medical services, and

1702-418: Is easier to perform and instructions are easier to give over a phone. In adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest , compression-only CPR by the average person has an equal or higher success rate than standard CPR. The CPR 'compressions only' procedure consists only of chest compressions that push on the lower half of the bone that is in the middle of the chest (the sternum ). Compression-only CPR

1776-416: Is effective only for certain heart rhythms, namely ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia , rather than asystole or pulseless electrical activity , which usually requires the treatment of underlying conditions to restore cardiac function. Early shock, when appropriate, is recommended. CPR may succeed in inducing a heart rhythm that may be shockable. In general, CPR is continued until

1850-468: Is effective only if performed within seven minutes of the stoppage of blood flow. The heart also rapidly loses the ability to maintain a normal rhythm. Low body temperatures, as sometimes seen in near-drownings, prolong the time the brain survives. Following cardiac arrest, effective CPR enables enough oxygen to reach the brain to delay brain stem death , and allows the heart to remain responsive to defibrillation attempts. If an incorrect compression rate

1924-447: Is made up of groups of volunteers who, within the community in which they live or work, have been trained to attend emergency calls received by the NHS ( National Health Service ) Ambulance Service , providing potentially life-saving treatment and first aid until an emergency ambulance arrives. The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust , when looking at the locations for Responder Groups, take

1998-416: Is manual squeezing of the exposed heart itself carried out through a surgical incision into the chest cavity , usually when the chest is already open for cardiac surgery. Active compression-decompression methods using mechanical decompression of the chest have not been shown to improve outcome in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator is a machine that produces a defibrillation: electric shocks that can restore

2072-406: Is necessary for the ventilations, because of the size of the baby's neck. In CPR, the chest compressions push on the lower half of the sternum —the bone that is along the middle of the chest from the neck to the belly— and leave it rise up until recovering its normal position. The rescue breaths are made by pinching the victim's nose and blowing air mouth-to-mouth. This fills the lungs, which makes

2146-612: Is not as good for children who are more likely to have cardiac arrest from respiratory causes. Two reviews have found that compression-only CPR had no more success than no CPR whatsoever. Rescue breaths for children and especially for babies should be relatively gentle. Either a ratio of compressions to breaths of 30:2 or 15:2 was found to have better results for children. Both children and adults should receive 100 chest compressions per minute. Other exceptions besides children include cases of drownings and drug overdose ; in both these cases, compressions and rescue breaths are recommended if

2220-442: Is not indicated if the patient has a normal pulse or is still conscious. Also, it is not indicated in asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA) , in those cases a normal CPR would be used to oxygenate the brain until the heart function can be restored. Improperly given electrical shocks can cause dangerous arrhythmias , such as the ventricular fibrillation (VF) . When a patient does not have heart beatings (or they present

2294-415: Is recommended for untrained rescuers. With children, however, 2015 American Heart Association guidelines indicate that doing only compressions may actually result in worse outcomes, because such problems in children normally arise from respiratory issues rather than from cardiac ones, given their young age. Chest compression to breathing ratios is set at 30 to 2 in adults. CPR alone is unlikely to restart

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2368-473: Is superior to compression-only CPR. Standard CPR is performed with the victim in supine position . Prone CPR, or reverse CPR, is performed on a victim in prone position , lying on the chest. This is achieved by turning the head to the side and compressing the back. Due to the head being turned, the risk of vomiting and complications caused by aspiration pneumonia may be reduced. The American Heart Association's current guidelines recommend performing CPR in

2442-543: Is that the CPR ventilations (rescue breaths) are considered the most important action for those victims. Cardiac arrest in drowning victims originates from a lack of oxygen, and a child would probably not suffer from cardiac diseases. The reason is that the phone call is considered urgent. In 2010, the AHA and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation updated their CPR guidelines. The importance of high quality CPR (sufficient rate and depth without excessively ventilating)

2516-483: Is thus the most common result of an emergency call. In addition, in France there exists a network of first responder associations, as French Red Cross (Croix-rouge française), French Civil Protection ( Protection civile ), FFSS ( Fédération Française de Sauvetage et de Secourisme ) or others. These CFR volunteers are allowed to supervise massive outside meetings, student gatherings, et cetera . These volunteers have followed

2590-417: Is used during CPR, going against standing American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines of 100–120 compressions per minute, this can cause a net decrease in venous return of blood, for what is required, to fill the heart. For example, if a compression rate of above 120 compressions per minute is used consistently throughout the entire CPR process, this error could adversely affect survival rates and outcomes for

2664-809: The Canadian Coast Guard all provide First Responder level emergency medical care, in some cases as a support to existing services, and in others as the primary emergency response organization. While all Certified First Responders in Canada are covered under Good Samaritan laws in jurisdictions where they are enacted, in some cases they have a Duty To Act for example, Ontario. Certified First Responders who are providing medical coverage to events (such as Red Cross, St. John Ambulance's Patient Care Divisions and private event medical companies), as well as those who are employed by Volunteer Fire Departments, Campus Response Teams, and others who are required to perform Emergency Medical Response as part of their duties all have

2738-453: The dash between "first" and "responder" disappeared. Some jurisdictions have special laws defining and establishing the rights and duties of first responders. The term first responder is defined in U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive, HSPD-8 and reads: The term "first responder" refers to those individuals who in the early stages of an incident are responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and

2812-465: The supine position , and limits prone CPR to situations where the patient cannot be turned. During pregnancy when a woman is lying on her back, the uterus may compress the inferior vena cava and thus decrease venous return. It is therefore recommended that the uterus be pushed to the woman's left. This can be done by placing a pillow or towel under her right hip so that she is on an angle of 15–30 degrees, and making sure their shoulders are flat to

2886-720: The Emergency Medical Responder level of training. Most EMR level units use pickup trucks with elevated caps to respond to emergencies. These vehicles usually are marked with the association name and seal along with lighting and sirens. Units at this level act as the first arriving responders, and must do much to stabilize the scene for other units, such as Advanced Life Support (ALS), to arrive. EMR units often transport patients to medical treatment facilities especially for basic level patients and when ALS units are unavailable. EMRs coordinate with firefighters, police, and other medical professionals in emergency situations. In

2960-566: The United Kingdom, most statutory NHS ambulance services deploy paid first responders who drive dedicated rapid response vehicles . These are typically estate cars, MPVs or 4x4s, are liveried with high-visibility ambulance markings, and fitted with blue flashing lights and sirens. These vehicles are generally single-crewed, by a paramedic . This differs from most ambulances in the UK, which usually have two crew members. A Community First Responder Scheme

3034-592: The approving body for Emergency Medical Responder certification and provides the training curriculum. Guidelines for EMRs are published in the Emergency Medical Operation Manual for First Responder Units. Certification only lasts for two 2 years and requires refresher training to maintain. Rescue clubs and ambulance foundations most often serve communities with volunteers to respond to emergencies with ambulances and other rescue resources. Most foundations and clubs request volunteers to acquire at least

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3108-558: The blood and maintain a cardiac output to keep vital organs alive. Blood circulation and oxygenation are required to transport oxygen to the tissues. The physiology of CPR involves generating a pressure gradient between the arterial and venous vascular beds; CPR achieves this via multiple mechanisms. The brain may sustain damage after blood flow has been stopped for about four minutes and irreversible damage after about seven minutes. Typically if blood flow ceases for one to two hours, then body cells die . Therefore, in general CPR

3182-573: The bystander is trained and is willing to do so. As per the AHA, the beat of the Bee Gees song " Stayin' Alive " provides an ideal rhythm in terms of beats per minute to use for hands-only CPR, which is 104 beats-per-minute. One can also hum Queen 's " Another One Bites the Dust ", which is 110 beats-per-minute and contains a repeating drum pattern. For those in cardiac arrest due to non-heart related causes and in people less than 20 years of age, standard CPR

3256-404: The case of babies. Water and metals transmit the electric current. This depends on the amount of water, but it is convenient to avoid starting the defibrillation on a floor with puddles, and to dry the wet areas of the patient before (fast, even with any cloth, if that could be enough). It is not necessary to remove the patient's jewels or piercings, but it should be avoided placing the patches of

3330-436: The chest and the other on the back (no matter which of them). There are several devices for improving CPR, but only defibrillators (as of 2010) have been found better than standard CPR for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. When a defibrillator has been used, it should remain attached to the patient until emergency services arrive. Timing devices can feature a metronome (an item carried by many ambulance crews) to assist

3404-571: The chest to rise up, and increases the pressure into the thoracic cavity. If the victim is a baby, the rescuer would compress the chest with only 2 fingers and would make the ventilations using their own mouth to cover the baby's mouth and nose at the same time. The recommended compression-to-ventilation ratio, for all victims of any age, is 30:2 (a cycle that alternates continually 30 rhythmic chest compressions series and 2 rescue breaths series). Victims of drowning receive an initial series of 2 rescue breaths before that cycle begins. As an exception for

3478-474: The compressions to the child's constitution), and with babies the rescuer must use only two fingers. There exist some plastic shields and respirators that can be used in the rescue breaths between the mouths of the rescuer and the victim, with the purposes of sealing a better vacuum and avoiding infections. In some cases, the problem is one of the failures in the rhythm of the heart (ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia) that can be corrected with

3552-476: The correct shocks if they are needed. The time in which a cardiopulmonary resuscitation can still work is not clear, and it depends on many factors. Many official guides recommend continuing a cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency medical services arrive (for trying to keep the patient alive, at least). The same guides also indicate asking for any emergency defibrillator (AED) near, to try an automatic defibrillation as soon as possible before considering that

3626-413: The defibrillator are considered urgent when the problem has a cardiac origin). Defibrillation The standard defibrillation device, prepared for a fast use out of the medical centres, is the automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable machine of small size (similar to a briefcase) that can be used by any user with no previous training. That machine produces recorded voice instructions that guide to

3700-441: The defibrillator directly on top of them. The patches with electrodes are put on the positions that appear at the right. In very small bodies: children between 1 and 8 years, and, in general, similar bodies up to 25 kg approximately, it is recommended the use of children's size patches with reduced electric doses. If that is not possible, sizes and doses for adults would be used, and, if the patches were too big, one would be placed on

3774-467: The electric shock of a defibrillator . So, if a victim is suffering a cardiac arrest, it is important that someone asks for a defibrillator nearby, to try with it a defibrillation process when the victim is already unconscious. The common model of defibrillator (the AED) is an automatic portable machine that guides to the user with recorded voice instructions along the process, and analyzes the victim, and applies

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3848-952: The environment, including emergency response providers as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C.   § 101 ), as well as emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, and other skilled support personnel (such as equipment operators) that provide immediate support services during prevention, response, and recovery operations. Emergency response providers are defined by 6 U.S.C.   § 101 as follows: (6) The term "emergency response providers" includes Federal, State, and local governmental and nongovernmental emergency public safety, fire, law enforcement, public safety telecommunicators/dispatcher, emergency response, emergency medical services providers (including hospital emergency facilities), and related personnel, agencies, and authorities. First responders must be trained to deal with

3922-476: The following into consideration: See Emergency Medical Responder The U.S. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) recognized a gap between the typical eight hours training required for providing advanced first aid (as taught by the Red Cross) and the 180 hours typical of an EMT-Basic program. Also, some rural communities could not afford the comprehensive training and highly experienced instructors required for

3996-864: The formation of a "First Response Group" composed of volunteers in The Burlington Free Press in April 1973. A few months after its use in the Globe , the term "first-responders" appeared in a Boston Herald article about a master plan for emergency care from the Health Planning Council of Greater Boston. One of the recommendations in the plan, reported the Herald , was that "All ambulance personnel and first-responders (who are general police and firemen) should be adequately trained in emergency care such as cardopulmonary [ sic ] resuscitation." "First-responder"

4070-500: The ground. If this is not effective, healthcare professionals should consider emergency resuscitative hysterotomy . Evidence generally supports family being present during CPR. This includes in CPR for children. Interposed abdominal compressions may be beneficial in the hospital environment. There is no evidence of benefit pre-hospital or in children. Cooling during CPR is being studied as currently results are unclear whether or not it improves outcomes. Internal cardiac massage

4144-427: The heart. Its main purpose is to restore the partial flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and heart . The objective is to delay tissue death and to extend the brief window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage . Administration of an electric shock to the subject's heart, termed defibrillation , is usually needed to restore a viable, or "perfusing", heart rhythm. Defibrillation

4218-435: The lack of heart beats. But the ventilations could be omitted for untrained rescuers aiding adults who suffer a cardiac arrest (if it is not an asphyxial cardiac arrest, as by drowning, which needs ventilations). The patient's head is commonly tilted back (a head-tilt and chin-lift position) for improving the air flow if ventilations can be used. However, in the case of babies, the head is left straight, looking forward, which

4292-467: The normal compression-to-ventilation ratio of 30:2, if at least two trained rescuers are present and the victim is a child, the preferred ratio is 15:2. Equally, in newborns, the ratio is 30:2 if one rescuer is present, and 15:2 if two rescuers are present (according to the AHA 2015 Guidelines). In an advanced airway treatment, such as an endotracheal tube or laryngeal mask airway , the artificial ventilation should occur without pauses in compressions at

4366-429: The normal heart function of the victim. The common model of defibrillator out of an hospital is the automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable device that is especially easy to use because it produces recorded voice instructions. Defibrillation is only indicated for some arrhythmias (abnormal heart beatings), specifically ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) . Defibrillation

4440-463: The patient has died. A normal cardiopulmonary resuscitation has a recommended order named 'CAB': first 'Chest' (chest compressions), followed by 'Airway' (attempt to open the airway by performing a head tilt and a chin lift), and 'Breathing' (rescue breaths). As of 2010, the Resuscitation Council (UK) was still recommending an 'ABC' order, with the 'C' standing for 'Circulation' (check for

4514-458: The patient. As with all medically trained and certified persons, Certified First Responders are immune to successful prosecution if assistance was given in good faith up to, and not beyond, the limits of certification and training. In France , pre-hospital care is performed either by first responders from the fire department ( sapeurs-pompiers , in most emergency situations) or from a private ambulance company (relative emergency at home), or by

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4588-442: The person has a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or is declared dead. CPR is indicated for any person unresponsive with no breathing or breathing only in occasional agonal gasps, as it is most likely that they are in cardiac arrest . If a person still has a pulse but is not breathing ( respiratory arrest ), artificial ventilations may be more appropriate, but due to the difficulty people have in accurately assessing

4662-444: The presence or absence of a pulse, CPR guidelines recommend that lay persons should not be instructed to check the pulse, while giving healthcare professionals the option to check a pulse. In those with cardiac arrest due to trauma , CPR is considered futile but still recommended. Correcting the underlying cause such as a tension pneumothorax or pericardial tamponade may help. CPR is used on people in cardiac arrest to oxygenate

4736-423: The priority for the drowned and most of the already collapsed children). As another possible variation, if a rescuer is completely alone and without a phone near, and is aiding to any other victim (not a victim of drowning, nor an already unconscious child), the rescuer would go to call by phone first. After the call, the rescuer would get a nearby defibrillator and use it, or continue the CPR (the phone call and

4810-452: The resources for full EMT training. The first responder training is intended to fill the gap between First Aid and Emergency Medical Technician. The American Red Cross conducts a course titled "Emergency Medical Response" that fits this definition. In the US the term " Emergency Medical Responder " has largely replaced the term "Certified First Responder" or "Medical First Responder" beginning in 2012. "Emergency Medical Responder" or "EMR"

4884-496: The same special rescuer training as firefighters (PSE 1 and PSE 2, in all 70 hours of training). In the Kingdom of Thailand (Thailand) First Responder is a certification most commonly achieved by local volunteers. This certification is referred to as Emergency Medical Responder or EMR. EMRs can provide emergency care for vehicle collisions, trauma, CPR , birthing, and other emergencies. EMRs must maintain their certification through

4958-1036: The scene of a medical emergency, or because they work far from medical help. Some of these non-traditional first responders include: First Responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency . First responders typically include law enforcement officers (commonly known as police officers ), emergency medical services members (such as EMTs or paramedics ), fire service members (such as firefighters , search and rescue members, technical/heavy rescue members, etc) and Public Works employees such as Heavy Equipment Operators as well as Public Works Tree Department personnel. In some jurisdictions, emergency department personnel, such as doctors and nurses , are also required to respond to disasters and critical situations, designating them first responders; in other jurisdictions, military and security forces may also be authorized to act as first responders. In

5032-616: The term "first responder" in the current sense first emerged in the United States in the 1970s. Perhaps the earliest uses in print occurred in two articles in The Boston Globe in August 1973, about proposed ambulance regulations in Massachusetts . "…any police or fireman who staff a 'dual-purpose' vehicle would have to be trained to offer 'first-responder' care — that is, to stabilize

5106-438: The user along the defibrillation process. It also checks the victim's condition to automatically apply electric shocks at the correct level, if they are needed. Other models are semi-automatic and require the user to push a button before an electric shock. A defibrillator may ask for applying CPR maneuvers , so the patient would be placed lying in a face up position. Additionally, the patient's head would be tilted back, except in

5180-400: The vehicle itself during an extrication. Therefore, in most all rescue environments, whether it is an EMS or Fire Department that runs the rescue, the actual rescuers who cut the vehicle and run the extrication scene or perform any rescue such as rope rescues or swift water rescue , etc., are Emergency Medical Responders, Emergency Medical Technicians, or Paramedics , as most every rescue has

5254-406: The victim. The best position for CPR maneuvers in the sequence of first aid reactions to a cardiac arrest is a question that has been long studied. As a general reference, the recommended order (according to the guidelines of many related associations as AHA and Red Cross) is: If there are multiple rescuers, these tasks can be distributed and performed simultaneously to save time. The reason

5328-552: The virus. Infectious disease has continued to be a major occupational health concern among first responders with the COVID-19 pandemic . The CDC and other agencies and organizations have issued guidance regarding workplace hazard controls for COVID-19 . Specific precautions for first responders include modified call queries, symptom screening, universal PPE use, hand hygiene, physical distancing, and stringent disinfection protocols. CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR )

5402-532: Was also used in a July 1974 classified advertisement for a deputy chief of EMT training—"to assist in developing and implementing statewide training programs for EMT's and first-responders"—from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health . The term began appearing in newspaper articles from other parts of the United States in the second half of 1974, and was in widespread use by 1975. At some point,

5476-411: Was emphasized. The order of interventions was changed for all age groups except newborns from airway, breathing, chest compressions (ABC) to chest compressions, airway, breathing (CAB). An exception to this recommendation is for those believed to be in a respiratory arrest (airway obstruction, drug overdose, etc.). The most important aspects of CPR are: few interruptions of chest compressions,

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