Meeting Professionals International Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter The Accident Zone:

1. Meeting Professionals International • Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter • The Accident Zone: • Getting The 411 On The 911 • Thursday, August 23, 2007 @ 12:00 noon • The Hotel Adolphus • August Program Committee: • Dvorah A. Evans, CMP, Chair • Lori Clark • Deborah Cohen • Michelle Corrales • Gloria Ford • Teresa Lovich • Melissa Mihelich • Nann Phillips

2. The Top 10 First Aid and Emergency Care Procedures: · Childbirth · Moving a Person With a Suspected Back Injury · Recovery Position · Removing a Fishhook · Removing a Speck From the Eye · Removing a Stuck Ring · Bleeding · Broken Bones · Choking · Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (from Harvard Medical School)

3. Emergency Checklist: This list describes your priorities in an emergency situation. Follow these steps: 1. Evaluate the scene to protect yourself and others from injury or danger. 2. Be calm and reassuring. 3. Do not move the person unless he or she is in imminent danger or unless you cannot provide assistance without moving the person. 4. Get help. Call out for someone to phone 911 or, if the person does not need immediate assistance, make the call yourself. 5. If the situation is a choking emergency, perform the Heimlich maneuver. 6. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. 7. Feel for a pulse to determine if the heart is beating. 8. Control bleeding with direct pressure. 9. Treat for shock. 10. If the person is unconscious, move him or her into the recovery position.

4. A Well-Stocked First-Aid Kit: A fishing tackle box or a rectangular sealed plastic container makes an ideal first-aid kit. It is wise to keep one in your home, car, boat, and camper. Stock your first-aid kit with the following items. # One roll of absorbent cotton # Antihistamine for allergic reactions # Povidone-iodine antiseptic solution # Aspirin (for adult use only) and acetaminophen and ibuprofen (in child and adult dosages) # 1-inch wide adhesive tape # Bacitracin ointment to treat cuts, scrapes, or puncture wounds # Bandages in various sizes # Bar of soap # Butterfly bandages and thin adhesive strips to hold skin edges together # Calamine lotion # Cold pack # Mouthpiece for protection when performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation # Cotton-tipped swabs # Syrup of ipecac to induce vomit # Elastic bandage or wrap # Eyedropper for irrigating # Flashlight # 4-inch x 4-inch gauze pads # Disposable surgical gloves # Matches # Saline eyedrops # Scissors # Safety pins # Sewing needle to help remove a splinter # Four packets of sugar in a sealed plastic bag to use in case of low blood sugar # Thermometer # Two triangular pieces of cloth to use as slings or to cut up as bandages or straps # Tweezers

5. Emergency Phone Numbers: Write down important telephone numbers and post them where you can refer to them easily, such as near your telephone or on your refrigerator. List the serious medical conditions (such as asthma or diabetes) of each family member on the back of the list. Teach your children how to call 911 and tell them to show the list to emergency medical personnel. The list should include the phone numbers of the police, the nearest fire department, ambulance services, a poison control center, and your doctors and the contact numbers for work, other locations, and a nearby relative or friend. You may also wish to include the phone numbers of the gas and electric companies, your children’s schools, the local pharmacy, or home health aides. Medical Identification Tags: A person with a serious medical condition — such as diabetes, a drug allergy, or a heart condition — should carry information about the condition on a necklace or bracelet, or on a card that can be carried in a pocket or wallet, so that proper care can be given in an emergency. Be sure to check for a medallion or card if you find yourself in the role of rescuer. If you or a member of your family has a life-threatening medical condition, obtain a medical identification tag or medallion from your local pharmacy and wear it at all times.

6. Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation on a Child Age 8 or Older or on an Adult 1. Make sure the person is lying on a hard, flat surface. Look into the mouth and throat to ensure that the airway is clear. If an object is present, try to sweep it out with your fingers (wear disposable surgical gloves if they are available). Apply the Heimlich maneuver if unsuccessful and the object is blocking the airway. If vomiting occurs, turn the person on his or her side and sweep out the mouth with two fingers. Do not place your finger in the mouth if the person is rigid or is having a seizure. 2. Tilt the head back slightly to open the airway. Put upward pressure on the jaw to pull it forward. 3. Pinch the nostrils closed with thumb and index finger. Place your mouth tightly over the person’s mouth. Use a mouthpiece if one is available. Blow two quick breaths and watch for the person’s chest to rise. 4. Release the nostrils. Look for the person’s chest to fall as he or she exhales. Listen for the sounds of breathing. Feel for the person’s breath on your cheek. If the person does not start breathing on his or her own, repeat the procedure.

7. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on a child Age 8 or Older or on an Adult • Lay the person on a hard, flat surface. Look into the mouth and throat to ensure that the airway is clear. If an object is present, try to sweep it out with your fingers. Use disposable surgical gloves if they are available. If vomiting occurs, turn the person on his or her side and sweep out the mouth with two fingers. Do not place fingers in the mouth if there is rigidity or if the person is having a seizure. • Tilt the head back slightly to open the airway. Put upward pressure on the jaw to pull it forward. • Look for the person’s chest to rise and fall. Listen for the sounds of breathing. Feel for the person’s breath on your cheek. • Position the hands: find the lower tip of the breastbone. Measure two finger widths • towards the head, and place the heel of one hand in this location. Place your other • hand on top of the first hand, interlacing your fingers of both hands. Lean forward so • that your shoulders are over your hands. • Push downward on the chest, using the weight of your upper body for strength. Compress 15 times in 10 seconds. Give two more slow breaths after the 15 compressions. • Do 15 more compressions followed again by two slow breaths. • Perform the 15-compression, two-breath cycle a total of four times. • Re-check pulse and breathing. • Continue repeating this entire cycle - four sets of chest compressions and breaths • followed by re-checking pulse and breathing - until the injured person regains a pulse, until professional medical help arrives.

8. PERFORMING THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER: • Choking because of an obstructed airway is a leading cause of accidental death. If a choking person is not coughing or is unable to speak, that's your cue to perform the Heimlich maneuver immediately. • Ask the choking person to stand if he or she is sitting. • Place yourself slightly behind the standing victim. • Reassure the victim that you know the Heimlich maneuver and are going to help. • Place your arms around the victim's waist. • Make a fist with one hand and place your thumb toward the victim, just above his • or her belly button. • Grab your fist with your other hand. • Deliver five upward squeeze-thrusts into the abdomen. • Make each squeeze-thrust strong enough to dislodge a foreign body. • Understand that your thrusts make the diaphragm move air out of the victim's lungs, creating a kind of artificial cough. • Keep a firm grip on the victim, since he or she can lose consciousness and fall to the ground if the Heimlich maneuver is not effective. • Repeat the Heimlich maneuver until the foreign body is expelled.

9. Heimlich Tips & Warnings: * If a victim is coughing strongly or able to talk, let the person try to expel the foreign body using his or her own efforts. * If the choking victim displays a weak or ineffective cough, this indicates that air exchange is minimal and that you should start the Heimlich maneuver. * Teach your family the universal choking sign--clutching the throat. Encourage everyone you know to become familiar with this sign and use it when choking. * To avoid breaking bones, never place your hands on the victim's breastbone or lower rib cage when performing the Heimlich maneuver. * If choking persists, call 911 immediately. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.

10. *Medical Emergency Preparedness Checklist Medical emergencies will happen at meetings. Often the difference between life and death may be minutes or seconds. Relying on your meeting staff or calling 911 is not the only answer, because few meeting venues are adequately trained or prepared, and because emergency medical support response times and capabilities vary greatly from venue to venue and destination to destination. With the expanse of many mega-meeting places or resorts, it can take more than five minutes to reach the victim once EMS is on the scene. Preparations for and response to medical emergencies at meetings have not been at the forefront of the meetings industry's agenda, so meeting planners now have an opportunity to make this a critical issue for the advancement of our profession as well as the enrichment of meeting experiences. What follows is a basic checklist to begin the process. When medical emergencies occur, we know that we can't save everyone. But everyone deserves the best possible chance to be saved. These actions will help: *The preparation for medical emergencies is a “Mission Critical” function for meetings of all sizes. You promote and reward a medical emergency readiness mindset as a core professional competency. *Staff members' skills are current and employees are trained, at a minimum, annually to the standards of cardiac pulmonary resuscitation/automated external defibrillation (CPR/AED). *A detailed venue and transport-specific medical emergency preparedness and response plan has been developed. This is done for all locations and travel during your meeting, especially off-site.

11. *Medical emergencies are prepared for according to the demographics of the membership: What's the age range? Have any individuals or groups made you aware of pre-existing medical conditions and special needs? Will circumstances, such as weather or special activities, increase the odds of illness or injury? *The medical emergency preparedness and response plan has been reviewed and approved by meeting-specific medical emergency management specialists. *A medical emergency response team leader and support staff have been designated. The management and activities of the program are part of the group's performance evaluation. Group members are afforded special recognition by your organization. The leader is in close contact with a meeting-specific specialist for ongoing support and quality assurance. *You and your staff routinely engage in medical emergency plan drills at your headquarters' offices and at your meeting site with your facility staff and EMS personnel. *Meetings are held in facilities with proven medical emergency capabilities. Facility personnel have provided evidence that their staffs, their communities' EMS systems, and the designated medical facilities are capable of performing at or above current standards of medical emergency care. *Pre-con meetings address management of medical emergencies. Protocols address who will do what, when, where, and how among staff, meeting site staff, and EMS personnel at all facilities and during all transportation. *Staff members can recognize medical emergencies and activate on-site medical emergency response and local EMS systems at all locations and on all transportation routes throughout your event.

12. *Information about the designated medical emergency care facilities and professionals is provided to staff, attendees, and participants. Signage is placed throughout each facility and instructions on what to do in case of an emergency are announced at each session. Merely listing “Medical Emergencies” in the meeting program is not enough, and it is not a best practice. *Communications and rapid activation systems are tested daily. If they are not performing, provisions are made and all staff and attendees are notified. For example, many cellphones do not work with Enhanced 911 systems. Attempting to call 911 on a cellphone will not identify the caller's location or EMS personnel may arrive with few people being aware they have been called. *Emergency transportation arrangements are made at least six weeks before the meeting. The quick activation of long-distance MedEvac transport of attendees, participants, or staff is planned, and a place for emergency aircraft (airplane, helicopter, etc.) to land and take off is arranged. Air, ground, and, if relevant, watercraft MedEvac arrangements are in place. *Post-emergency continuity protocols are in place. Staff members are designated to manage the needs of people who have become ill or injured or, in a worst-case scenario, have died. This may include communicating with family members or significant others and making transportation arrangements with all meeting, housing, and medical facilities to ensure that continuity is maintained. *Backup systems, people, and technology are in all aspects of your medical emergency response plans. *Meeting-specific experts are retained to advise, train, and assist in the preparation for and ongoing management of medical emergencies. For more information on SafeMeetings or on the international AED program registry it is developing, call (330) 856-2246 or send an e-mail to MeetingMed@aol.com. (*Excerpts from Medical Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Professional Meeting Planners by Richard M. Obertots (2003) at www.meetingsnet.com.)

13. WHO’S RESPONSIBLE???: DETERMINING THE LEGAL FALL-OUT OF ACCIDENTS Duty to Provide Safe Premises: The duty of a hotel to provide safe premises is based on the common law duty owed to business and social invitees of an establishment. Under common law, hotels must exercise reasonable care for the safety of their guests. Hotels may be found negligent if they knew or should have known, upon reasonable inspection, of the existence of a danger or hazard and failed to take action to correct it and/or warn guests about it. Accordingly, hotels have an affirmative duty to inspect and seek out hazards that may not be readily apparent, seen or appreciated by patrons and guests. In addition, they may have an affirmative duty to warn guests of dangers or hazards. If the risk of harm or damage was foreseeable, and the hotel failed to exercise reasonable care to either eliminate the risk or warn guests of its existence, the hotel may be liable for any resulting harm or damage caused by its negligence ("proximate cause"). However, the law does not protect hotel guests from their own negligence. An "open and obvious" hazard, such as a bathroom tile floor that becomes slippery when wet after reasonable use, is not a basis for liability. On the other hand, if a poorly maintained bathroom fixture results in standing water on the tile floor, and an unsuspecting guest enters the bathroom and slips on the tile, the hotel would most likely be liable for damages. Likewise, standing water on any floor in the hotel, if left standing beyond a reasonable time for management to have detected and eliminated it, may result in liability for the hotel.

14. Legal Key Points to Remember: *Hotels are not liable for every accident or loss that occurs on the premises, nor do they insure the absolute safety of every guest. *Hotels have a general duty to exercise "reasonable care" for the safety and security of their guests. *Hotels have a general duty to reasonably protect guests from harm caused by other guests or non-guests. *Hotels have an affirmative duty to make the premises reasonably safe for their guests. This obligation includes a two-fold duty either to correct a hazard or warn of its existence. The hotel must not only address visible hazards but must make apparent hidden dangers or hazards. *Hotels are not liable for harm to person or property unless "fault" can be established against the hotel. *Hotels may be "vicariously liable" for the NEGLIGENCE of their employees. It is extremely helpful to know CPR. As a meeting planner in charge of many individuals, the chances that such training could prove useful are very high. Most hotels have a house physician, but this person usually does not live on site and may not be available at the time you need him or her. Each hotel should have a system for providing emergency service and you must determine during preliminary planning the nature and extend of that service. For instance, it is important to hear how the hotel initiates emergency care. In some properties, the hotel switchboard operator initiates this process. In others, it is the security office of convention services staff. Avoid having contradictory messages conveyed in the midst of a crisis by understanding the hotel's emergency system.

15. Useful Local Phone Numbers in Dallas: Local phone numbers that are useful for both new and current residents of Dallas area Important Phone Numbers: Emergency Numbers: Fire/Police/Ambulance: 911 Dallas Police Department Non-Emergency: (214) 744-4444 Dallas Fire & Rescue Non-Emergency: (214) 670-4611 North Texas Poison Center: (800) 441-0040 Dallas County Rape Crisis Center: (214) 653-8740 Mental Health Hope Line: (877) 930-HOPE Government Numbers: City of Dallas Services Information Line: 311 Dallas County State's Attorney: (214)653-3600 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): (214) 720-2200 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: (469) 227-4300 Health & Social Numbers: American Red Cross: (214) 678-4800 Alzheimer's Association: (214) 827-0062 American Heart Association: (214) 748-7212 American Cancer Society: (214) 819-1200 American Lung Association: (817) 332-4549 United Way: (214) 978-0000 Dallas County Elder Abuse Coalition: (214) 871-5065 Texas Dept. of Human Services: (888) 834-7406 Salvation Army: (214) 353-2731 Miscellaneous Numbers: Information Assistance: 411 Information and Referral of Greater Dallas: (214) 379-4357 Time: (214) 844-6611 Weather: (214) 787-1111