By SORS Volunteer Margot Lester
Knowing first aid is more than a nice-to-have. It’s a way to be prepared for emergencies and provide mutual aid and care to your neighbors.
“When an emergency happens, the person closest to someone in need is rarely a professional first responder,” acknowledges Ian Fowler, Orange County’s assistant chief of emergency management and one of SORS’ partner agencies. “It’s far more likely to be a family member, coworker, neighbor or bystander.”
When you know first aid, you’re prepared to respond when someone needs it, providing basic care until the professionals arrive. Photo by SORS Member Leyla Ozelkan
That’s why SORS offers first aid classes free of charge for community members. The sessions teach you basic tasks, including immobilizing limbs, dressing wounds, performing CPR/AED and administering NARCAN®. We also offer a more specialized course called Stop the Bleed.
“Knowing basic first aid empowers people to quickly recognize an emergency, call for help and to take action during those critical minutes before responders arrive,” he says.
As SORS Instructor Alexis Hirth notes, “First aid is incredibly important. Even simple actions, like applying pressure to a wound, can stop minor injuries from escalating into medical emergencies. Basic first aid saves lives and reduces recovery times.” Adds fellow Instructor Allison Eaton: “Just having the confidence to stay calm and call for help can be the difference between a good outcome and a regrettable outcome.”
Meet a few of our other volunteers!
Factors that hamper preparedness
Unfortunately, misconceptions and misgivings prevent more people from getting this crucial training. The two most common barriers are:
I won’t need it. Some people don’t get trained because they assume they won’t encounter a situation that requires first aid. But most instances requiring first aid are every-day occurrences like kitchen burns, cuts, ankle sprains, etc. “Getting trained is not just for preparing for ‘rare disaster situations’. It’s about gaining practical skills to protect family and friends during your everyday life!” Leave it to the professionals. “Sometimes people think it is best if ‘real’ rescuers give the care — they don’t think laypeople can be helpful, which is far from the truth!” Eaton explains. “Being the first person on the scene using first aid to give CPR, place someone in the recovery position or stop a bleed can be the difference between a family mourning or rejoicing.”Even people who are trained may not provide first aid because they worry they’ll do something wrong and hurt someone. According to the American Heart Association, every state, including North Carolina, and the District of Columbia have Good Samaritan laws that protect people who act in good faith to help someone so the responding person can’t be sued.
“As an EMT, I want people to understand that doing something is almost always better than doing nothing, and it is very difficult to make a situation worse or to hurt someone. In an emergency, the true risk is lack of action. Action, even basic or imperfect actions, saves lives!”
That reality prompts a lot of businesses, nonprofits and families to take a SORS workshop. For example, the Diaper Bank of North Carolina recently worked with us to train its volunteers on first aid and CPR.
“You never know what might happen and it’s good to be prepared,” points out Emilie Smith, the nonprofit’s chief of staff. “There are a lot of families and babies at our distribution centers and it’d be nice to be prepared if something happened. We chose SORS because of the mission, the convenience and the fact that our money is tight! Eighty-nine cents of every dollar we spend goes directly to our programs so we have to be very careful with our spending. We appreciated the free class!”
SORS can offer classes at no charge because of donors like you. Support our trainings today!
Basic first aid training empowers you to help other people in every-day situations and community-wide emergencies. Photo by SORS Member Gabi Battaglini
First aid makes our community safer and better prepared
While most people use their first aid training in routine situations, possessing the know-how is particularly valuable during large-scale events, such as Tropical Depression Chantal.
“Community resilience starts with preparedness at the individual level and builds outward,” says Fowler, who also oversees the County’s Community Emergency Response Team program. “Large-scale emergencies change the normal response environment. Emergency Services is likely receiving many calls simultaneously, roads may be blocked, utilities could be impacted and response resources may have to be prioritized toward the most critical needs first.”
That’s where individual and community preparedness becomes so important.
“People who know first aid can address immediate needs, help to stabilize someone who is injured, and support those around them until first responders arrive,” he continues. “In those situations, trained neighbors helping neighbors can serve as a force multiplier, expanding our community’s ability to care for one another until first responders are available.”
Are you ready to sign up?
Now that you know the value of learning how to respond in an emergency until emergency professionals arrive, check out our class schedule or reach out to schedule a workshop for your workplace, faith community, neighborhood association or other group.
The South Orange Dispatch is a monthly column on Chapelboro by the South Orange Rescue Squad: an all volunteer, 501c3 non-profit providing EMS and technical rescue services in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill area of Orange County since 1971.
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