First Aid Response Times: May’s Safety & Hygiene Corner

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Question: What is OSHA’s current interpretation of the response times for first aid in response to life-threatening bleeding, including active shooter incidents?

Answer: OSHA’s current interpretations of the response times for first aid in response to life-threatening bleeding are addressed in letters of interpretation. These letters state in part:

In workplaces where serious accidents such as those involving falls, suffocation, electrocution, or amputation are possible, emergency medical services must be available within 3-4 minutes, if there is no employee on the site who is trained to render first aid…While the standards do not prescribe a number of minutes, OSHA has long interpreted the term “near proximity” to mean that emergency care must be available within no more than 3-4 minutes from the workplace, an interpretation that has been upheld by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and by federal courts…The basic purpose of these [first aid] standards is to assure that adequate first aid is available in the critical minutes between the occurrence of an injury and the availability of physician or hospital care for the injured employee… Medical literature establishes that, for serious injuries such as those involving stopped breathing, cardiac arrest, or uncontrolled bleeding, first aid treatment must be provided within the first few minutes to avoid permanent medical impairment or death…

These time limits are maximums. OSHA does not prohibit but encourages shorter response times when feasible. In order for OSHA standards to more comprehensively address response times to uncontrolled bleeding, it would entail a notice of proposed rulemaking and comment effort.

These recommendations are consistent with the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. This standard requires that emergency medical services ideally respond within one minute of turnout, that first responders take 4 minutes to get to the scene, and that other units should arrive within 8 minutes.

*Provided by the Ohio BWC safety consultants.

Refund Notice – FY20 Prepaid Lunches

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This message is for PCSC members who purchased FY20 Annual Prepaid Lunch Packages.
 
PCSC Members:
Due to the cancellation of our April, May & June luncheons, members who purchased FY20 Annual Prepaid Lunch Packages qualify for a refund of $45 per package purchased. To see the amount your company qualifies for, click here.
REFUND OPTIONS
Due to suggestions offered by a few of our members, the PCSC is offering 3 refund options:
  1. Refund (by check via USPS mail; please allow up to 60 days)
  2. Donate back to the Portage County Safety Council (to help support future safety programming)
  3. Donate to local food programs (to help those in need through programs such as Mobile Meals, Center of Hope, Kent Social Services, etc)
*Due to the uncertainty of how social distancing orders will affect our luncheons in FY21, we are not offering credits at this time. Thanks for understanding!
 
Please complete this online FY20 Refund Request Form to choose one the refund options above ASAP. If for any reason the link doesn’t work for you, please email us.
 
Deadline is Monday, June 1, 2020. Any refund amount not claimed by 6/1/20 will be donated back to the Portage County Safety Council in order to continue to support local safety programming. Exceptions may be made for members who were temporarily out of business due to the pandemic.
Thank you all for your continued support of your companies, employees, safety, the Portage County Safety Council and our communities at large! I hope all of you are well and your families are staying safe through all of this!

[Get Outside] Portage Parks

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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-memdc-da1640

Episode 156: Andrea Metzler and Jennifer White of the Portage Park District, joined us to chat about their parks, the benefits of spending time outdoors and the new Get Outside campaign with the Portage County Safety Council! Follow the links to get a free campaign poster or flyer today! Please note: this episode was recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, please adhere to social distancing guidelines as suggested.

FY20 Official Statement from Ohio BWC

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Latest update from the Ohio BWC on 4/20/20:

Dear Safety Council Rebate Program Participants,

We thank you for your patience as we’ve determined how to proceed with the FY20 Safety Council Rebate Program in the midst of COVID-19.

As you know, we directed safety council sponsors to cancel March, April, and May safety council meetings in light of public health concerns. And today’s announcement will eliminate the need for sponsors to host a June meeting. As a result of these cancellations, we realize it is impossible for many of you to complete the program’s FY20 rebate eligibility requirements.

Therefore, we will provide the FY20 rebate to safety council members who, as of Feb. 29, 2020, had attended at least FOUR safety council meetings. This determination was based on crediting each member with one meeting credit for each cancelled meeting, the maximum of two external training credits and waiving the CEO attendance and calendar year 2019 semi-annual report requirements.

Although we realize a small number of safety councils host more than one meeting a month late in the program year, we are granting relief for only one safety council meeting credit per month in March, April, May, and June. This resolution reinforces the program’s goal of active participation for the purpose of education, networking and resource sharing and, unfortunately, members who condense participation to the latter part of the program year will not appreciate relief from this solution.

Ultimately, employers we determine have earned the rebate under the revised guidelines will receive the maximum percentage rebate allowed per their BWC group-rating status:

  • 2% for employers enrolled in BWC’s Group-Retrospective-Rating Program and eligible for the participation rebate.
  • 2% for employers enrolled in BWC’s Group-Experience-Rating Program and eligible for the performance bonus – there will be no claims data measurement calculation.
  • 4% for employers not enrolled in a BWC Group-Rating Program.

Your safety council sponsor will submit July 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020 attendance records to us when normal business operations resume. The timeline for the processing of these rebates is yet to be determined but we will continue to update safety council sponsors when you should expect FY20 safety council program rebate checks.

Our most sincere interest is the health, wellness and safety of Ohio’s workforce. Be safe and take care.

Michelle Francisco

BWC Safety Council Program Manager

April 2020 Newsletter

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Welcome to our monthly newsletter for April 2020!

Our goal for the newsletter is to connect our members to relevant safety resources, all linked together in one convenient location every month. We hope you find this resource useful and valuable!

Please share with your colleagues!

COVID-19 Related:

SAFETY RESOURCES:

  1. How Stress Affects Workplace Safety. Is stress really a safety concern? In this episode, Mike & Nic chat about stress before & during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it significantly impacts your workforce, even in regards to safety! (22:52)
  2. [Safety Talk] Tornado Safety Tips. Here’s some safety tips from Ready.gov on how to prepare for and survive a tornado! (4:34)
  3. [Safety Crash Course] JSA & JHA Basics (Live). This is a live recording of the 4th of 4 Safety Crash Course – Part 1 presentations at our monthly workplace safety luncheon on February 13, 2020. The topic was JSA & JHA Basics and it was presented by Debbie O’Connell, Regional Account Manager, 1-888-OhioComp. Click here to view the power point. (11:41)
  4. [Safety Crash Course] Forklift Safety Basics (Live). This is a live recording of the 3rd of 4 Safety Crash Course – Part 1 presentations at our monthly workplace safety luncheon on February 13, 2020. The topic was Forklift Safety Basics and it was presented by Robert Campbell, Safety Coordinator, Viking Forge Corporation. Click here to view the power point. (8:58
  5. [Safety Crash Course] PPE Basics (Live). This is a live recording of the 2nd of 4 Safety Crash Course – Part 1 presentations at our monthly workplace safety luncheon on February 13, 2020. The topic was PPE Basics and it was presented by Twilla Watson, Human Resources Manager, Hess Print Solutions. Click here to view the power point. (5:50) Listen/Download via Google Drive.
  6. [Safety Crash Course] Lockout Tagout Basics (Live). This is a live recording of the first of four Safety Crash Course – Part 1 presentations at our monthly workplace safety luncheon on February 13, 2020. The topic was Lockout Tagout Basics and it was presented by Renee Onesti, Director of Engineering & Maintenance, Kent Elastomer Products, Inc. Click here to view the power point. (8:38)
  7. April’s Safety Update from the Ohio BWC Library. Each edition provides up-to-date news & safety information.
  8. Respirator Fit-Testing Guidelines: April’s Safety & Hygiene Corner.
  9. PCSC Podcasts: Our podcasts are now available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Podbean, Stitcher & You Tube! local & relevant workplace safety information right through your phone! Subscribe today!

PCSC NEWS:

  1. COVID-19 Program Updates: The latest program updates from the PCSC as a result of COVID-19. More info coming soon!
  2. Event Cancellations: All PCSC events have been cancelled through June 2020.
  3. Get Outside Campaign:This campaign is aimed at improving worker health & wellness by highlighting local parks & trails while promoting the benefits of spending time outdoors! This page contains links to free campaign tools and related resources to help you, your company and/or community to promote & improve health & wellness. Click here to listen to the official campaign launch!

WORKPLACE WELLNESS:

  1. How to Take Care of Your Mental Health During COVID-19. Jennifer Parmenter, Clinical Counseling Supervisor at Family & Community Services, Inc., in Kent, OH, called in to give us some tips on how to take care of ourselves and our mental health during the COVID-19 crisis! (28:37)
  2. Staying Active at Home During the Lockdown. Leslee Keegan of I’m Power Fitness Center in Ravenna, OH, called in to give us tips on how to stay active at home during the COVID-19 lockdown! Check out her Facebook page for more info today! (12:31)
  3. How Stress Affects Workplace Safety. Is stress really a safety concern? In this episode, Mike & Nic chat about stress before & during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it significantly impacts your workforce, even in regards to safety! (22:52)
  4. [Get Outside] 2020 Campaign Launch!Are there advantages of spending more time outdoors? Should employers implement a #GetOutside campaign to their employees? Join Mike & Nic as they answer these two questions and chat about the Portage County Safety Council’s new Get Outside Campaign with Portage Parks! Follow the campaign link to download a free campaign poster or flyer today! (16:36)

 

 

[Get Outside] 2020 Campaign Launch!

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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-cxjby-d987d2

Episode 152: Are there advantages of spending more time outdoors? Should employers implement a #GetOutside campaign to their employees? Join Mike & Nic as they answer these two questions and chat about the Portage County Safety Council’s new Get Outside Campaign with Portage Parks! Follow the campaign link to download a free campaign poster or flyer today! For more information about the Portage County Safety Council, please visit our website today!