18 www.thesafetymag.com/ca
F E A T U R E
aid should also encompass
psychological safety too.
"We don't support mental health
nearly as much as physical health," he
says. "There needs to be a culture of
safety within an organization — physical
and mental health is a key piece."
Indeed, having an emergency
response plan can help lead to, and
establish, a strong safety culture.
Tech advances
During the pandemic, a lot of first aid
training, and safety training in general,
has gone virtual. And this isn't the only
area where tech advances have come
into play.
Stinson's company, Blackline Safety,
offers a range of gas detection and lone
worker safety devices, for example, that
can help improve the safety of
emergency workers such as police
officers, firefighters and EMTs.
"A lot of these workers have no ability
to call for help remotely — some might
have a radio on them, but those are
limited range devices," says Stinson.
"Across almost every industry there is a
tremendous amount of people who are
not connected."
Over the last few years, the market
has evolved and tech has become more
advanced — and more affordable.
"We absolutely live in a world now
where there is no excuse to not have
your workforce connected; if they're at
risk, it should just be the way it is," says
Stinson.
And as we see more and more
advances, tech could end up becoming a
huge part of an organization's
emergency planning when it comes to
having the right equipment.
First aid training
So whether in-person or virtual, what
exactly does this training entail? It
involves things such as CPR, choking,
burns, bleeds, fractures, bone and joint
injuries, poisonings, etc.
"To me, the essential part of first aid
training is that it needs to be focused
on the learner and on knowledge
reality," said Marentette.
He says that his team looked at the
topic for a long time, and did studies to
understand what is most important, and
they got to a place where they realized
that a first aid program needs to be built
around a learner.
"We like to make it as accessible as
possible — learners learn differently and
have different styles. It's not one-size fits
all," he says.
With the pandemic, the Red Cross
has had to adapt and offers instructor-
led sessions that can be done in person
or virtually, or offer blended learning
with an online component and a
classroom component.
First and foremost though, "the
response plan should be about timing,"
says Schmied.
Having the right equipment is also a
huge part of having an effective
FIRST AID TRAINING ESSENTIALS
Emergency First Aid Level A: a one day
course covering essential first aid for
adult casualties only.
Standard First Aid Level A: a two day
course that covers all of what is included
in emergency first aid (also for adult
casualties only), and also includes things
such as multiple casualty management,
chest & abdominal injuries, bone & joint
injuries, etc.
Emergency First Aid Level C: a one day
course covering essential first aid for
adults, children and infant casualties.
Standard First Aid Level C: a two day
course that covers all of what is included
in emergency first aid (also for adults,
children and infant casualties), and also
includes similar additions to Standard
First Aid Level A.
