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11.3.5: What to Do in a Serious Medical Emergency

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    67804

    • Erin O'Hara-Leslie, Amdra C. Wade, Kimberly B. McLain, SUNY Broome
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    Should a serious medical emergency occur, Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides should assess the situation using their observational senses. Note what is seen, heard, felt, and smelled. Immediately call for help. Activate emergency medical services (EMS) by dialing 911. Inform them in a calm and matter of fact way what occurred and the observations made. Never leave the victim unattended.

    ABCs of First Aid

    Keep in mind the ABCs of first aid. The ABCs of first aid stand for A (Airway), B (Breathing), and C (Circulation). It is important to remember this acronym as any delay in treatment when a patient has a compromised airway, breathing, or circulation could result in serious injury, and possibly death.

    Assessing the ABCs:

    Airway

    • Is the patient’s airway (mouth, nose), open?
    • Is there an obstruction which makes it impossible for them to breathe?
    • If there is an obstruction and the person is unable to breathe, activate EMS and perform the Heimlich maneuver to try to remove the obstruction.

    Breathing

    • Is the person breathing?
    • Can you see the chest rise and fall as they breathe?
    • Can you feel air move in and out of their mouth or nose?
    • If the answer is no to any of these questions, Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides should activate EMS and begin CPR if trained to do so. Hands-only CPR can be performed if you are not trained in CPR.

    Circulation

    • Do they have a pulse?
    • How is their color? Are they blue from lack of oxygen?
    • Does their skin feel warm to the touch or cold? Cold skin means not enough blood is pumping through the body.
    • If the person does not have a pulse, Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides should activate EMS and perform CPR if trained to do so.

    Take note of the ABCs of first aid. Activate emergency medical services if any of the ABCs are compromised. Report your observations to EMS. Stay with the patient. If trained, perform CPR.

    This page titled 11.3.5: What to Do in a Serious Medical Emergency is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erin O'Hara-Leslie, Amdra C. Wade, Kimberly B. McLain, SUNY Broome (OpenSUNY) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.