Question about Heimlich Maneuver and restaurants.

[HappyPediRN]

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.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

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

I think the "her throat" the OP was talking about belonged to a patron, not the waitress herself! Pretty sure the victim was also a "her". And I don't know too many restaurants that would have its waitresses dining at the tables while they were open for business :)

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

To the OP: I appreciate your good intentions, wanting to teach the staff how to do the Heimlich. But from a CYA perspective (the one I tend to have lately), I'd only recommend to the manager where they can get the training. I would want zero liability--I know, it may seem farfetched to some, but in this tragically litigious society I can just see it: server does it wrong, victim (or family) sues, and you get blamed for having taught it incorrectly. Then again, not very farfetched in my mind.....And the Good Samaritan Law doesn't prevent you from being sued, by the way.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

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.

At least once a week???? What is he feeding these people? I worked at a restaurant for 5 years and never saw someone choking.

[HappyPediRN]

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

No, a waitress yelled out that a fellow patron was choking.

[HappyPediRN]

Thank you so much for your advice. I've decided to become a BLS instructor and from there I think I will use my certification to offer free Heimlach training.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Thank you so much for your advice. I've decided to become a BLS instructor and from there I think I will use my certification to offer free Heimlach training.

Very nice

And a great choice--you could find yourself a nice community service niche!