Question about Heimlich Maneuver and restaurants.

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Specializes in Pediatric Psychiatry, Home Health VNA.

Tonight my fiance and I were out to dinner and a waitress suddenly yelled out "Does anyone know the heimlach maneuver?" Myself, another nurse and a firefighter all rushed to her side and were able to successfully remove the object lodged in her throat after a few rounds of the Heimlich. I'm really amazed that at any given time you can find several healthcare professionals in any setting. I'm haunted by the "what ifs" tonight and it made me wonder what could have happened if there wasn't anyone there to help.

Here's my question. I want to go back to the restaurant to teach the waitstaff how to perform the Heimlich in case this should happen again, but I think I need to be licensed to teach BLS. Is this true? If I was able to teach them would they be protected under the Good Samaritan act or do a person need to be certified to administer it? A friend taught me the Heimlich long before I ever took a BLS class but I never had to use it and looking back am wondering if if I had would I have been liable for not having a certification? I think all waitstaff should be trained for at least a choking emergency. I just want them all to know how to respond in the future should this ever happen again because if there weren't any patrons in the restaurant who knew what to do there's a good chance this story wouldn't have had a happy ending.

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I'd say they would definitely have to take a class by a certified instructor. I would not take this on yourself due to liability.

You could give a list of local classes to the restaurant manager, but that would be about it.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

If all you are showing is the Heimlich, I don't see a problem. The whole BLS is another thing. Shoot, learning the Heimlich is something the Cub Scouts have to learn for rank advancement; if we can teach our 8 year olds I'm sure you can teach wait staff. I'd encourage the manager to have a BLS course given to all his/her staff though.

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From your standpoint, it's a good idea to take an instructor class before teaching.

As far as whether employees would be protected by Good Samaritan Laws, that's a different consideration. Good Samaritan Laws are dependent on the individual state, but generally a person making good faith efforts is protected, whether formally trained in CPR or not.

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Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.

I *think* here in Indiana there is a special provision about restaurant staff and choking. I'm not sure if it says they have to know the Heimlich, but I think it says they are protected from liability

This is an "off the cuff" answer mind you....

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I can't believe restaurant staff don't already know the Heimlich manuever. I have a friend that owns a restaurant and he says he does the Heimlich at least once a week at his restaurant.

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I've worked in the restaurant industry for many years (just starting nursing school this month!) and I have to say that I doubt management would be receptive. Basically, if they were to take a class on it, then that would be accepting some sort of responsibility should someone choke, kwim?

We just went through a big fiasco at my current restaurant because one of the servers accidentally served a minor who was part of a sting opperation by the sherriff office. In our training afterward (which was only done to cover managagment's behinds) we were discussing how the county provides a folder of each states ID's so that servers can compare in order to detect a fake. Basically what our GM said was he doesn't want one of those books on the premise because then it would be taking on additional responsibility for determining a fake vs. a real ID.

Also, it's hard enough to get servers to come to mandatory training meetings, so I doubt the manager's would be willing to pay all their employees (because no one would come in off the clock) for an hour or so for a class like that.

Sorry to be so negative, I think it would be a very good thing, but I just think in our sue-happy society, it probably would be very hard to find a receptive manager.

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Specializes in ICU, PACU, Cath Lab.

It is a good idea....in my hometown a couple years ago...a man choked to death in a resturaunt while everyone either watched or finished their dinner. I was not there so I do not know all sides, but family said that no one...not one single person got up to try and help. Everyone should know the Heimlich...heck I think everyone should know the basic's behind CPR...

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I believe that in most places it is required that the restaurant have heimlich posters posted and the employees are supposed to go over them when hired. I know that I have seen "dings" listed by the health department/OSHA for restaurants that did not have the posters on the wall.

No matter how good of an idea it is to go to places teaching this stuff - no one would allow it unless it was free. The turnover in restaurants of all kinds is too high that the facility would not pay for this training.

And then there is the fact that the majority of the general public is unwilling to perform heimlich, cpr, basic first aid to people they don't know anymore because they "don't want to get involved".

The thought is good but it would be a waste of time and frustration in these economic and "me, me, me" times.

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Wait, the waitress was choking but was able to yell out?

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I've worked in 6 different restaurants in 2 different states and have NEVER seen a poster for the heimlich. I was a Water Safety Instructor and lifeguard during part of that time, so I was trained in first aid/CPR and would have noticed something like that. Certainly, no one has ever given me as a server any type of first aid training or medical training. Again, I think it really goes back to the restaurants not wanting to take on the liability should the public expect us to be able to save them from choking, kwim?

As it is, the laws are already easy for people to sue if they have a drink and then have an accident. They can come back and sue the chain, the manager, and the server even if they weren't obviously intoxicated or appearing drunk. That alone makes me very nervous, if I was then expected to save someone's life if they choked, under risk of lawsuit, then I just think that's a risk most people in the service industry would not want to take on. I know I wouldn't.

Of course I wouldn't think twice about doing the heimlich if needed, but I certainly wouldn't want to be at risk legally if I didn't know how, or couldn't for some reason....

I do think it's odd that more people don't know it, because it takes all of 10min to learn and practice. I'm so glad there was a good outcome in this case. I know a friend of my mom's choked and died in front of her whole family while out to eat. It never occured to me that no one would know the heimlich but I guess it's not as common as I thought.

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I would contact the manager and tell them the case, and explain to them that you are not licensed to teach first aid but are a registered nurse, and would be more than happy to simply teach the knowledge of the procedure to the waitstaff - although, they would not be certified.

I think that all teachers, wait staff, and anyone working in fast food joint should know basic first aid. However, I doubt it will ever become mandatory.

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