When we talk about emergency preparedness, we’re usually focused on accidents, weather events, or even workplace violence. What we don’t often discuss is how to cope with longer emergencies that could disrupt operations for days or weeks—an enormous earthquake, a major storm, or an act of war that cripples an entire region or takes out a swath of the power grid. Preparing for these scenarios means thinking beyond the short window where EMS is only minutes away. Two steps you can take: 1) Get your Basic First Aid Certification, and 2) Get your Wilderness First Aid Certification.
In an acute, workplace emergency, your job is to stabilize the patient and hand them off to professionals. But in a long emergency, you may not have access to the internet or phone services to call 911, and EMS might not be able to respond even if you can make the call. You might have to adapt your actions to the situation, improvise with what you have, and care for the patient for hours or even days.
In a basic first-aid course from the American Red Cross, you’ll learn how to identify and treat sudden illnesses like stroke or heart attack, how to perform CPR and use an AED, how to stop choking, control bleeding, stabilize sprains, prevent shock, and treat burns and other common injuries. Basic first aid gives you the confidence to know when to call in professionals and the knowledge you need to stabilize a patient until they arrive. This training assumes that help is minutes away and that you have access to first-aid supplies. It’s a useful set of skills to have on the jobsite and out in the world.
In a long emergency, when EMS is unreachable for hours or days, it could be handy to have additional, more adaptable skills. Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training assumes that you’ll have to care for someone for an extended time with limited gear.
WFA courses teach skills that go beyond basic first aid such as:
- Conducting structured head-to-toe assessments in the field.
- Improvising basic splinting using available materials.
- Managing common wounds, blisters, and soft-tissue injuries.
- Managing hypothermia, heat illness, dehydration, and mild altitude illness.
- Identifying environmental hazards—such as lightning, rough terrain, and water crossings—and reducing exposure risks.
- Monitoring a patient over time and tracking changes in condition.
- Making informed evacuation decisions when help is delayed.
First-aid training is recommended for everyone. Wilderness first-aid training is recommended if you want or need to be prepared for a long emergency.
Looking for a weekly safety topic on First Aid? With a Premium Membership, you can access our Online Library filled with hundreds of toolbox talks for you to download. Click here to sign up! Not convinced? Click here for a FREE four-week trial!