All-Star Emergency protocols

[NJ Coach]

With the recent emergency issue in the NFL, I was wondering how many gyms have an emergency protocol in place? How many have coaches who are CPR certified, and how many have an AED on site? As a parent, are you concerned if your gym does not have any of these contingencies in place? As members of the community, do you want gyms and competition companies to have their protocols published?

 

[Keep_Believing]

It seems like some of the mega gyms that have lots of money have AEDs, etc. I have not seen them at the smaller gyms.

 

[catlady]

In nine states you have to have a medical professional overseeing the use of an AED, in other states only trained or certified individuals are allowed to use them to fulfil liability requirements.
<By state AED requirements>

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

So kind of along these lines of an emergency: I always wondered how the coaches handled it when Kenrod died.

I can’t get my head around how those coaches told those kids. In the middle of a competition. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

It’s not exactly a group text thing. But also you cannot personally call people one at a time with the news. It will spread faster than you can manage.

So do you tell the parents first? Just so we’re all on the same page?

If it was a local comp and everyone got to go home after Day 1, do you let the parents tell the kids? So they can have some privacy?

If it’s a faraway comp and we’re all staying in a hotel, do you just gather everyone together and tell them? JFC.

I guess my big thing is: do you tell the adults first. Or is that a bit foolhardy? How do you even begin to prep a protocol for something like this.

 

[WinstonsGirl]

Part of our requirement to coach in my Province (and I think all of Canada actually) is to be First Aid certified, and to take several courses in eluding Emergency Action Planning, Practice Planning, and more, and then your ICU certification for the level you're coaching. The higher the level your'e coaching (rec vs. novice, vs. pep, vs. all-star and levels, the more courses you're required to have to maintain your certification. We don't have to have AED's, but I wish we did.

ETA - Our gym has emergency procedures in place for the gym, and for all competitions we run

 

[kayemm]

In nine states you have to have a medical professional overseeing the use of an AED, in other states only trained or certified individuals are allowed to use them to fulfil liability requirements.
<By state AED requirements>

Really?? So just a general member of the public couldn't use one? I'm in the UK and we have AED's outside public buildings like schools or community centres with the aim that in the event one is needed in the area, anyone could access it and use it, even if the building is closed.

I've had training in them anyway but they have great audio instructions for people who haven't and if you call emergency services they can talk you through it too.

 

[DonnaM]

I teach music through parks and rec, and every instructor is required to be certified in CPR w/AED and first aid, and we have one in the gym, in the office, and in the auditorium, as well as a few in cases on the wall with breakable glass that will automatically call for backup.

There have been enough cases in kids' rec sports, etc that this is considered standard now.

And having done AED training, the machine really does tell you what to do, and examines the heart rhythm before shocking. The CPR is a lot easier to get wrong than the AED part.

I'm also trained on Epipen/Auvi-Q (the latter also tells you what to do), Narcan, and Glucagon.

FWIW, as a music teacher I also had training in CPR, First, aid, EpiPen, and glucagon in public schools. At the time, we had to have 10% of teachers trained and every school I worked in chose to have that be the PE teacher, music teacher, art teacher, librarian, etc. The rationale was that we taught all the kids and knew them.

 

[catlady]

Really?? So just a general member of the public couldn't use one? I'm in the UK and we have AED's outside public buildings like schools or community centres with the aim that in the event one is needed in the area, anyone could access it and use it, even if the building is closed.

I've had training in them anyway but they have great audio instructions for people who haven't and if you call emergency services they can talk you through it too.

This is actually a better <link> for every state AED requirement, but "no" in most states a general member of the public can't use one which is unfortunate. As you said, they do provide excellent instructions, and the emergency operator will walk you through everything. Here is just an example of one state's requirements:

Arizona
State Statute Title 36 Chapter 21.1 (1999)
A person or entity that acquires an AED must:

1. Enter into an agreement with a physician who must oversee all aspects of public access to defibrillation including training, emergency medical services coordination, protocol approval, standing orders, communications, protocols and AED deployment strategies.
2. Limit the use of AEDs to trained responders.
3. Require each trained responder who uses an AED on a person in sudden cardiac arrest to call 911 as soon as possible and submit a written report to the physician within five working days after its use.

The physician who enters into agreement with a person or entity that has acquired and AED must:

1. Establish quality assurance guidelines that include a review of each use of the AED to evaluate performance.
2. Be proficient in emergency medical services protocols, CPR, and the use of AEDs.
3. Ensure that each trained responder receives training in CPR and in the use of AEDs by completing the Heart Saver AED course for the lay rescuer and first responder or an equivalent course that meets the same objectives.
4. Ensure that the AED is maintained and tested according to the manufacturer�s guidelines.

The following persons and entities described below are not subject to civil liability for any personal injury that results from any act or omission that does not amount to willful misconduct or gross negligence:

1. Supervisory physician
2. A person or entity that provides CPR or AED training
3. A person or entity that acquires an AED
4. The owner of the property where the AED is located. B

 

[NJ Coach]

Pretty sure those rules are just for liability. Meaning, if you aren't one of those named entities, you aren't protected from civil liability in the case of personal injury during its use.

 

[catlady]

Pretty sure those rules are just for liability. Meaning, if you aren't one of those named entities, you aren't protected from civil liability in the case of personal injury during its use.

Yes, those are the signage requirements/laws currently by state. Individuals are pretty well protected if they act in good faith, however, many companies are waiting until mandated because they aren't provided the same protection. The good news, the laws keep updating.

Can my business be held liable for AED use?​

The law is slightly different surrounding corporate negligence – as above, no individual person using an AED can be sued, but your company could be held liable if you don’t provide proper upkeep of equipment resulting in an accident, injury or ineffectiveness. Laws and regulations including the SARAH Act detailed above can’t prevent you from being found to be criminally liable or negligent.

In many industries companies are legally required to have aa qualified first aider on site at all times. If you have an AED on site you must follow all legal requirements for its upkeep, including maintenance of the advice recommended by the manufacturer and appropriate documentation proving that services are up to date.