Home Health Aide On-the-Go In-Service Lessons: Vol. 7, Issue 4: Injuries Related to Summer Heat (Home Health Aide on-the-Go in-Service Lessons, Volume 7)

This lesson on Injuries Related to Summer Heat includes a complete training packet. Each in-service packet takes approximately one hour to complete and fully meets the Medicare in-service training requirements. As aides need training, you can make as many copies as you want - there s no restriction when used with aides assigned from your office location. Remember that Home Health Aides must have 12 hours of in-service training every year. LESSON OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this program, the home health aide will be able to: Explain three measures to prevent heat injuries Describe three first aid measurs t treat heat exhaustion, and Identify the two most serious types of heat injuries OVERVIEW Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), extreme heat and humidity associated with heat waves directly killed, on average, at least 237 people annually in the U.S. from 1994 to 2003. Extreme heat is one of the most underrated and least understood deadly weather phenomenon. Even though it is number one, it has a low profile compared to the visible, destructive, and violent nature associated with floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Heat waves are silent disasters. They are often ignored and are only noticed when tragedy strikes. Unlike violent weather events that cause extensive physical destruction and whose victims are easily identified, the hazards of extreme heat are dramatically less apparent, especially at the onset. The home health aide is in the perfect position to recognize these hazardous conditions and to provide preventive care to susceptible homecare patients. During a heat wave, an aide s ability to identify the hazards and implement safety measures protects both the patient and aide against heat injuries while working in the home setting.