Frequently asked Training Questions
Q. Why should I be certified in CPR?
A. One reason why a person should be trained in CPR is that brain death occurs within approximately 4-6 minutes from cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association claims that a person in cardiac arrest has only a 50% of surviving if CPR is not performed within 5 minutes. Furthermore, the survival odds go down an additional 7-10% for every minute after that.
What is the average response from your local emergency responders to a patient in cardiac arrest?
In some metropolitan areas, it may be as little as 3-4 minutes, but in many other areas, it can be as much as 10-15 minutes. If more people are trained in recognizing an emergency and knowing the steps to take, the percentage of deaths from cardiac arrest may be lessened.
Q. Am I obligated to do CPR if I am certified?
Depending on case law, statute, or job description, most professional rescuers have a duty to act where they are work assigned. When off-duty, response by the same people would be considered a "Good Samaritan" act. If you are taking CPR/First Aid at the basic level for personal enrichment purposes, you must make the decision whether to help or to decline assistance to a victim.
Note: Check with your state statutes for more specific information.
Q. Who Needs First Aid Training?
OSHA's standard for first aid training in general industry, 29 CFR 1910.151(b), provides:
In the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace which is used for the treatment of all injured employees, a person or persons shall be adequately trained to render first aid. Adequate first aid supplies shall be readily available.
In the construction industry, 29 CFR 1926.50(c) provides:
In the absence of an infirmary clinic, hospital, or physician, that is reasonably accessible in terms of time and distance to the worksite, which is available for the treatment of injured employees, a person who has a valid certificate in first-aid training from the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the American Red Cross, or equivalent training that can be verified by documentary evidence, shall be available at the worksite to render first aid.
The primary requirement addressed by these standards is that an employer must ensure prompt first aid treatment for injured employees, either by providing for the availability of a trained first aid provider at the worksite, or by ensuring that emergency treatment services are within reasonable proximity of the worksite. The basic purpose of these standards is to assure that adequate first aid is available in the critical minutes between the occurrence of an injury and the availability of physician or hospital care for the injured employee.
The first aid training standards at 29 CFR 1910.151 and 1926.50(c) generally apply throughout the industries that they cover. Other standards which apply to certain specific hazards or industries make employee first aid training mandatory, and reliance on outside emergency responders is not an allowable alternative. For example, see 29 CFR 1910. 266(i)(7) (mandatory first aid training for logging employees), and 29 CFR 1910.269(b) (requiring persons trained in first aid at work locations in the electric power industry).
Q. How Does The Requirement for CPR and First Aid Affect My Workplace?
Remember that industries with a high incidence of injury must have medical care to the employee within four to six minutes. Since many emergency medical services use an eight minute response time standard for metropolitan areas, employers in high injury industries need to provide first aid training to employees. Rural ambulance response times are significantly longer. OSHA compliance for employers in those areas - even with low incidences of injuries - means they will need to offer first aid training (and possibly designate a first aid person). Contact your local emergency medical service provider to determine an expected response time for 911 calls in your area.
Any concerns about OSHA compliance for your industry should prompt you to provide first aid and CPR training to employees. Training should be maintained on a regular basis. Refer to your specific state requirements.
Q. Who Needs Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Training?
The bloodborne pathogens standard at 29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(2) requires employers to provide training to any employees who have occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials, such as employees assigned medical or first aid duties by their employers. The standard at 29 CFR 1910.1030(b) defines "occupational exposure" as "reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee's duties." If an employee is trained in first aid and identified by the employer as responsible for rendering medical assistance as part of his/her job duties, that employee is covered by the bloodborne pathogens standard.
Q. Who Needs Workplace Fire Extinguisher Training?
Where the employer has provided portable fire extinguishers for employee use in the workplace, the employer shall also provide an educational program to familiarize employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards involved with incipient stage fire fighting. The employer shall provide the education required in upon initial employment and at least annually thereafter.
Note: Local fire codes like the International Fire Code adopted by jurisdictions in Oregon and Washington require the presence of fire extinguishers in the workplace, making training a requirement.
Q. Who is covered by OSHA's HAZWOPER standard?
The Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) applies to five distinct groups of employers and their employees. This includes any employees who are exposed or potentially exposed to hazardous substances -- including hazardous waste -- and who are engaged in one of the following operations as specified by 1910.120(a)(1)(i-v) and 1926.65(a)(1)(i-v):
- clean-up operations -- required by a governmental body, whether federal, state, local, or other involving hazardous substances -- that are conducted at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
- corrective actions involving clean-up operations at sites covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
- voluntary clean-up operations at sites recognized by federal, state, local, or other governmental body as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
- operations involving hazardous wastes that are conducted at treatment, storage, and disposal facilities regulated by Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 264 and 265 pursuant to RCRA, or by agencies under agreement with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement RCRA regulations; and
- emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances regardless of the location of the hazard.