WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing (shortness of breath) or choking
- Drastic change in your loved one’s mental status (are you unable to wake them up, are they unusually agitated, are they saying things that don’t make sense).
- Slurred speech without having ingested alcohol, illegal substances, or prescribed pain medication.
- Unable to move a limb/limbs that they could move before.
- Seizures.
- Blurry vision, loss of vision.
- Severe stomach pain.
- High fever.
- Broken bones.
- Overdose.
- Falls.
- Head injuries.
- Unusual bleeding from mouth, nose, vomiting blood, or severe rectal bleeding.
- Your loved one threatening to harm themselves or harm others.
WHAT TO SAY to the 911 OPERATOR
1.
Listen carefully to the questions that the 911 operator asks you.
2.
2.
They will want to know who is injured, what is the emergency (what is currently happening). When did the emergency occur or is it in progress, and where is the emergency (the exact address including apartment number).
3.
3.
Follow the instructions that the 911 operator tells you. They will tell you specifically what to do until help arrives. Do not hang up until they tell you to.
4.
4.
Open your door to your home or apartment so the rescue team can enter.
The next column will be about navigating the emergency room when your loved one arrives.
Nurse Bee
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Nurse Bee
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