A4900.20 SCC Emergency Care and Nursing Faculty Responsibilities

Statement

In the event a student, faculty, staff member, or visitor should become ill/injured to the point of not being able to care for self or make decisions, nursing faculty may be called for assistance.  It is not the nursing faculty’s role at Shawnee Community College to triage (evaluate) ill/injured people.  Any triage of treatment by any nursing faculty member will be considered the action of a “Good Samaritan” and subject to the same legal protections accorded to any “Good Samaritan” under the laws of the State of Illinois.  If a person falls into any of the following situations, an ambulance should be called immediately:

• Altered Level of Consciousness – confused, unable to answer questions, severe headache, seizures of any kind, unable to move arms or legs, difficulty speaking
• Chest pain – jaw, arm, hand, severe sweating at rest or stomach pain.
• Respiratory difficulties – rapid respirations, no or slow respirations, unable to catch one’s breath while sitting.
• Alterations in blood sugar-high or low blood sugar, sweating, confusion.

This list is not intended to be inclusive but to be a general guideline.  If anyone has questions or doubts whether a person needs to be transported to a hospital by ambulance then an ambulance should be called.

Nursing Department staff/faculty do not constitute any implied diagnosis, treatment plan, or follow-up care.  If the student, faculty, staff member, or visitor refuses to be transported by an ambulance to the nearest hospital, a release of responsibility should be signed and maintained by security staff.