Musculoskeletal injuries and injury risk are our primary focus onsite; however, they do not represent the ceiling of our services. In the brief story below, one of our site contacts articulates a would-be scary situation for one of their employees. Luckily, Kim, one of our Certified Early Intervention Specialists (CEIS), was there to help.
“In June 2019, a temporary associate reported to the Health Office with complaints of not feeling well. The employee reported nausea and was profusely sweating. Upon evaluation by the CEIS, the employee had unstable vitals, which prompted Kim (CEIS) to advise the employee she was going to activate Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The employee refused and did not want her to call EMS. The employee wanted to return to work and see his primary care physician the next day. Kim managed to keep the employee in the office, saying whatever she had to, to convince him that he must wait for EMS to arrive. When EMS arrived on-scene, the Paramedic performed an EKG and confirmed the employee was indeed having a heart attack, however the [employee] still wanted to refuse medical assistance. It was at that point that the Paramedic and Kim advised the employee he could not refuse medical assistance under these circumstances. After much convincing, the employee was transported to a local hospital. Kim worked with the employee’s management team to notify the employee’s emergency contact to inform them of the situation. Kim continued to follow up with the employee’s emergency contact throughout the weekend where she learned that the employee was suffering from a heart attack at work and had two stents placed in his heart.
Since returning to work, Kim has continued to monitor the employee, who has needed two additional surgeries for additional stent placement and is now also managing a new diagnosis of Type II Diabetes. Kim has continued to follow the employee’s progress and coach him on adhering to his new lifestyle. Kim is happy to report that he is doing very well and has made many beneficial changes in his life after his recent medical emergency. He now sees Physicians on a regular basis, follows a strict diet, has lost weight and has learned to manage his diabetes.
Due to Kim’s early recognition and persuasion, this employee’s life was saved. Medical emergencies can happen at any time and it is beneficial to have a trained professional, such as a CEIS, on-site to identify emergencies and ensure our employees get the care they need. The impact the CEIS can have on an employee’s life is immeasurable and [we are] very grateful to have CEIS’ here for our employees.”