The average response time for medical emergency services (EMS) to respond to a 911 call can be 11 minutes in an urban setting and 15 minutes in a rural setting. These are actual response times and are based on the primary EMS unit being available and not already responding to another call. If an alternate EMS squad must be dispatched, the response time will be even longer. Consequently, dental offices should be prepared to manage a medical crisis, without outside assistance, for up to 30 minutes.
During this 30 minutes, the Dental Assistant (DA) will be supporting the dentist when a medical emergency event occurs with a patient. The DA will be the “Very First, First Responder”.
As the Very First, First Responder, DAs must know that medical emergencies can happen anywhere at any time. DAs play a critical role in patient safety and must be ready. Fortunately, a free tool from AAFDO can help get them ready to meet this extraordinary responsibility.
The free tool, called The Six Links of Survival will assist DAs to expertly recognize, identify, and respond to medical emergencies that can occur while treating dental patients.
The Six Links of Survival covers the educational needs and physical items necessary to fulfill the needs of a dental patient in that time period between the identification of a medical problem and the arrival of outside assistance.
Because trained Dental Assistants can be the difference between Life or Death of a patient, they need every edge they can get. The Six Links of Survival can help provide that edge. Get it today.