A member had an accident recently that required a trip to urgent care to treat their cut. They were on the Tormach CNC and had reached in to adjust the coolant flow tubes and didn’t realize how close they were to the spinning blade. The result was not serious enough to warrant an ambulance, and they were able to drive themselves home before deciding to seek further aid. Our membership coordinator, Sid, was there and was able to assist in first aid. Fortunately Sid is trained in first aid and CPR and knew what to do.
As a result though, we realized we don’t have the same medical supplies at both locations. If you aren’t aware, emergency first aid is located at the sink by the microwave and bathroom, as well as by the sink next to the dust collector in The Shop. We will be updating equipment at both locations.
Please take a moment next time you are in the shop to familiarize yourself with emergency first aid locations. In the event of a serious injury, please call 911.
Tips to improve your safety:
Turn off moving equipment before putting your hand near it.
Don’t wear loose clothing near spinning equipment.
Know your limits. Don’t work with power equipment or blades when you are tired.
Schedule time in the space when other people are around to assist if an accident happens
I’m glad Sid was there to help and this individual is ok. This both scary and a great opportunity to grow for all of us.
I recently posted this thread regarding injuries Should we adopt something similar? and now that we’ve had a serious injury, I want to toss out a question.
Of course the value is obvious, but the logistics not so much… So, should stewards—leads for certain—become trained in first aid as part of their role?
It’s been a long while since I was last trained in first aid and CPR. Does anyone have a recommendation for where to update and/or get training? Yes, I can do a google search, but I’m hoping someone here has personal experience with an organization.
Sorry for my rambling…I just wanted to put this out there for others to consider.
You can sign up for First Aid/CPR training through the Red Cross website. There are several local instructors who regularly offer classes. Alternatively, there are online options that cover similar material for $37, although these do not provide official certification. If you’re interested in a hybrid option, where you complete the online portion and then attend in-person training with an instructor, the cost is typically $70 or more, depending on the instructor.
At one point, I considered getting certified as an instructor to offer small classes at Asmbly, but unfortunately, we don’t have a suitable space for hosting them at the moment. However, I would love to see more people trained, and I hope that as we continue to grow as an organization, this will become part of the standard training for staff and space leads. In the meantime, you have plenty of options available!
There is also a first aid kit by the sink in the metal shop annex, though it has never been mounted properly on the wall. We should check that its contents are up to date too.