SIH Second Act Focuses On First

Multimedia Journalist

CARBONDALE, IL (WSIL) – Being prepared in case of a medical emergency can be key to receiving proper treatment and SIH is making sure they know what to do in an emergency as the final of four Second Act luncheons was held Monday by SIH.

The second Act is for adults 50 and beyond and at Monday's gathering members learned about the importance of what to keep in their first aid kit as well as things to remember when you call 9-1-1.

Barbie Gatton is the medical director at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital. She says it's always a good idea to customize your first aid kit to tailor your and your family's needs.

“Everybody needs to have some gauze pads and Band-Aids but really the most important thing is that everybody needs to personalize their kit for their medical conditions,” said Gatton.

That means diabetics need to have glucose gel on hand, an EpiPen for those with severe allergies, and those with heart conditions should have aspirin and nitroglycerin and those are just three examples.

“The other thing is the first aid kit needs to be accessible,” Gatton says.

That means the first aid kit needs to be where you and your family spend the most time.

Brad Robinson was also on hand. He's the EMS System Coordinator for SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. He says never second guess whether you should call 9-1-1 or not. That hesitation could be the difference when it comes to proper medical treatment.

"We encourage people to call if they feel something is wrong,” said Robinson.

And the fastest way to do that is to call 9-1-1.

"You should do that instead of calling the ten-digit number to that specific ambulance base,” said Robinson.

Robinson also spoke to the group about the difference in care when it comes to taking yourself or having someone else take you to the hospital or having EMS go to you.

"Anytime you think there's a critical incident occurring, the EMS crew can initiate life-saving medical care while they're en route."

And that's what Robinson says EMS is trained to do. The most significant difference is that life-saving medical care is done inside an ambulance.

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Multimedia Journalist