NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Worried about an unexpected health emergency at work? Do you keep 911 on speed dial for safety’s sake? Have you ever gone out of your way to make friends with paramedics, doctors or nurses?
If you seek a lessening in health worries, simply walk into LifeWay Christian Resources’ undated distribution center in Lebanon, Tenn., or enjoy a jog around the religious publishing house’s Nashville campus.
Late last year, nearly 90 of the 95 distribution center employees completed CPR and first aid certification, and 12 Nashville employees were trained to use LifeWay’s newest safety addition — four defibrillators.
Both training sessions are examples of how LifeWay seeks to demonstrate its second core value, “Employees are our most important resource,” said Russell Vance, director of the corporate services department.
“Being CPR certified just makes good sense,” said Rodney Cathey, general manager of the Lebanon distribution center. “Training that could possibly save someone’s life, whether at work, home or in public, is a wise investment. At the distribution center, employees are in contact with each other all day. If someone were to have an emergency, a staff with knowledge of CPR could literally make the difference between life and death.”
Cathey said training was available to every employee at the distribution center and nearly 90 were certified, including one retiree.
Cathey said LifeWay’s logistics department is committed to providing meaningful training for its employees during each fiscal year, and on-site training is a must due to the location of the warehouse.
“The idea came to me as I took Red Cross training in 2001 at the downtown campus,” he said. “I thought, ‘Everyone needs this training,’ and began to make plans for the training for all undated employees in 2002.”
Cathey said Mike Harry, director of the logistics department, “thought the training was a great idea and had significant benefit not only at work, but in all areas of a person’s life. Mike has always championed employee development and has been extremely supportive of all of our training endeavors.”
John Pippin, operations manager at the Lebanon facility, and Karen Armstrong of the human resources department, helped Cathey organize the training, which required a special schedule. To achieve certification, employees needed six, one-hour classes, which had to be staggered to allow for continued production.
“The Red Cross taught the classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in November,” Cathey said. “The scheduling allowed us to continue production levels while some employees attended the six-hour-long session.” CPR and first aid training aren’t the only opportunities offered to distribution center employees, he added.
“The CPR training is just one recent event. We have also held two GED courses, English as a Second Language and several other courses facilitated by human resources on site.”
The health safety of employees also is important at LifeWay’s Nashville campus, said Rick Robinson, facility operations manager in the corporate services department. Three defibrillators are available for health emergencies in Nashville, and one is available in Lebanon.
An emergency response team of LifeWay employees is trained to administer first aid, CPR and use the defibrillators, Robinson said. “They have been trained to follow Red Cross protocol when responding to an emergency.”
The defibrillator can analyze a person’s heart rhythm and provide instructions regarding the appropriate care. “It tells the operator whether or not to shock them,” Robinson said.
“So we on the emergency response team don’t make the decisions; it tells us what to do.”
But the best health safety training is prevention, Robinson said.
“The defibrillators are here to assist folks in the event they have a heart attack,” Robinson said. “But if you suspect you are having a heart attack, you should get to a hospital quickly. It’s always better to rule out a heart attack at a hospital than have us deal with it here.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: HEALTHY PRECAUTIONS.
