Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid is the issue in today’s post. The pilot project to be introduced in St. John NB Canada in September 2009 will train 50 teachers, who will become the first line of help for students suffering from anxiety or depression until they can get the professional help they need.
But, as this article states, the mental health first aid program originated in Australia. It was brought to Canada through Alberta Mental Health, and is now being adapted to the New Brunswick program.
Standing on the view that, though we give first aid training to people to help an injured person before medical help arrives, rarely do we give training in mental health problems. And that’s why it’s called Mental Health First Aid.
The course trains people to assist someone in a mental health situation, or who is developing a mental disorder. It teaches how to listen non-judgmentally, to encourage a person to get appropriate professional help, and to encourage self-help strategies. It has been proven, from controlled trials, that it increases knowledge and reduces the stigma and, most importantly, that it increases supportive action for people with mental health issues.”
And this year, November 4 in St. John, NB, Canada, a benefit concert is planned, proceed to go to this worthy cause, mental health first aid.
Read more about it here
New First Aid Products In Combat
New first aid products in combat could save more servicemember’s lives, and this is really putting first aid first on the battlefield.
According to the American Forces Press Services, via a news conference the middle of this month, two new first-aid products have proven to improve survival of our wounded servicemembers.
Test results from US Army Medical Research has shown that new Combat Gauze field bandages and WoundStat granules both have shown marked improvements over what’s currently used in the field.
As the article states,………” Both products can stop bleeding quickly in wounds where tourniquets can’t be used. Combat Gauze uses kaolin, a fine, white clay, to stop bleeding, …. and WoundStat granules react with blood to form a barrier, preventing more bleeding……”
Read more on the importance of these two new first aid products in combat.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123120142
First Aid Lessons Save Lives
First aid lessons save lives, but if these lessons are not offered to the general population, then putting first aid first can have dire results.
Vietnam news tells of lack of first aid knowledge leading to deaths of hundreds of children in the country where first aid knowledge among the general populace is among the lowest in the world. In HCM City, a pediatrics hospital is alarmed.
As this article states, “According to Nguyen Van Manh, head of the Technical Bureau of the National Institute of Burns, more than 70 per cent of children taken to the hospital have not received proper first-aid, or any on-the-spot treatment at all.…parents often used useless or dangerous techniques when children were burnt. Some rubbed toothpaste or even latex from trees on the injury.”
The article goes on to target not only parents’ lack of first aid knowledge, but also how it is prevalent in schools, …”nearly 60 per cent of schools in the city had no person or section in charge of health-care…”
Read more on the article here, and find out what steps are being taken now, for the future of the children rests, to a degree, on the effectiveness of first aid lessons saving lives.
Link to article: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01OWN071008
First Aid First for Students
First Aid first, especially for the classroom situation.
More and more first aid classes are being offered across the states and in Canada, geared at promoting first aid for our youth – with the benefit of achieving credits toward graduation, as well as achieving confidence that they can handle an emergency first aid situation.
And moe students in the UK are achieving accreditation as well. They have course run by St. John Ambulance. The first aid courses teache students how to deal with emergency situations at home and in a laboratory setting.
But in addition, these student specific first aid courses also teaches how to deal with everyday problems – bites, stings, even asthma. All are covered in these student courses.
And the beauty of it is that passing the course also goes toward their accreditation for graduation. The fact that it may someday help save lives is not lost on these students, as they become proficient in putting first aid first.
Pet First Aid
Pet First Aid is offered by the American Red Cross.
And since October is Adopt -A -Shelter – Dog month, I found this article interesting.
Staff members at a shelter in Iowa are offering classes for pet owners. According to the article, the participants …”learn basic information about how to recognize and care for canine emergencies, illness and injuries…”
Read more about this course here, or check with your local animal shelter or first aid center for classes in your area – Remember, put first aid first.
link to article : http://www.newtondailynews.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/local4.txt