Page 28 - Participant Manual

Care

The final emergency action step is to give care according to the conditions that you find and your level of
knowledge and training. Follow these general guidelines:

■ Do no further harm. ■ Reassure the person by telling the person that
you will help and that EMS personnel have been
■ Monitor the person’s breathing and level of called (if appropriate).
consciousness.

■ Help the person rest in the most comfortable ■ Give care consistent with your knowledge and
position. training as needed, and continue to watch for
changes in the person’s condition.
■ Keep the person from getting chilled or overheated.

Generally speaking, you should avoid moving an injured or ill person to give care. Unnecessary movement
can cause additional injury and pain and may complicate the person’s recovery. However, under the following
three conditions, it would be appropriate to move an injured or ill person:

■ You must move the person to protect him ■ You must move the person to reach another person
or her from immediate danger (such as fire, who may have a more serious injury or illness.
flood or poisonous gas). However, you should
only attempt this if you can reach the person ■ You must move the person to give proper care. © 2011, 2016 The American National Red Cross. All rights reserved.
and remove him or her from the area without For example, it may be necessary to move a
endangering yourself. person who needs CPR onto a hard, flat surface.

If you must move the person, use one of the techniques described in Appendix A, Emergency Moves.
If the person does not have a life-threatening illness or injury, you may decide to take the injured or ill person
to a medical facility yourself instead of calling for EMS personnel. Never transport a person yourself if the

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