How many times have you gone to the gym to do your daily workout without thinking about safety or first aid? Most likely, your answer is that first aid is the last thing on your mind when going to the gym because all you focus on is doing a good workout that pumps blood from your heart to your muscles. In this case, you won’t think about first aid unless there’s a real emergency.
Let’s say there actually is an emergency. Does your gym have a first aid room? And if there isn’t one, do you know if there is a first aid kit or not?
All these questions are confusing because the law does not require gyms to take concrete steps to provide first aid to people inside.
Some gyms buy first aid kits or set up a dedicated first aid room. These gyms try hard to make sure customers know where these first aid rooms are. But some gyms don’t take this seriously. They might just have a first aid kit, and some gyms don’t even have a kit at all.
A gym that wants to provide the best first aid services to its customers might think about setting up a first aid room. As we said, having a first aid room in a gym is not legally required. Whether it’s necessary or the gym owner has chosen to create one to offer this service to customers, The typical room includes:
- A sink with both hot and cold water supply.
- Soap and paper towels.
- Clean drinking water with disposable plastic cups.
- First aid supplies (usually a first aid kit).
- A special check-up corner and a medical couch.
- Phone or other communication equipment.
- A record to log first aid incidents.
It's recommended to have someone acting as a medic inside gyms to be responsible for taking anyone needing first aid to the designated room, besides doing their professional duties.
Besides setting up first aid rooms, gyms can also offer service by training some staff in basic first aid principles. This training covers basics like treating superficial wounds, open wounds, splinting broken bones, identifying and treating dehydration, and other cases. Gym owners should know basic first aid training is available almost everywhere through the Red Cross and local fire departments, and it's easy to find a course almost anywhere. A good training program can make a gym safer by ensuring staff know how to give basic help in emergencies.
It's hard to talk about this topic without mentioning the automatic external defibrillator (AED) used for patients with heart attacks. It gives an electric shock to restart the stopped heart. A great thing about this device is that you don't need formal training to buy it. The word automatic in its name removes all guesswork about how to use it because it comes with full instructions, written text, and diagrams. You just open the package, start using it, place some electrodes in key spots, and turn it on. Once turned on, it handles everything else automatically. This device is perfect for gyms and recreational centers. Having at least one device in a gym next to a first aid kit could be the difference between life and death for a client in an emergency.
So we hope first aid is something you think about when you go to the gym. We also encourage you to talk to your gym management about first aid policies and procedures. If your gym doesn’t currently have a first aid room, talk to management about it. You might be surprised by their response.
First aid is an important topic that shouldn’t be ignored in gym settings. It’s more important now than ever. The more gym owners and clients who know about first aid, the safer the gym environment becomes.
