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16 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 7, 2019 ASOA NEWS ASCRS ASOA ANNUAL MEETING by Rich Daly EyeWorld Contributing Writer All such documentation should be kept in the OSHA manual. Offices also need to ensure they have broad spectrum fire extinguishers. Although AEDs are not required, many larger offices have added them and basic train- ing on their simple use. She was able to mitigate one concern of employees by buying an AED that would not shock a patient if they are not in cardiac arrest. Ms. Graves furthers her safety training efforts by incorporating safety facts into her daily staff email update. On the risk of workplace violence, Ms. Graves warned that many are carried out by someone known to the office. She urged ev- ery clinic to have a class on work- place violence. Unlike some who urge people to shelter in place, Ms. Graves emphasized the need to run in cases of active shooters. If escape is not possible, first hide, then prepare to fight. Offices in dangerous neigh- borhoods may want to consider installing floor bolts on their internal doors. On a related initiative, she un- derscored the importance of zero tolerance policies for harassment of any type. "You need to tell your staff, 'At any time, come talk to me,'" Ms. Graves said. Ms. Graves said that manag- ers owe it to their staff to think about emergency issues and plan accordingly. Offices need to drill ev- ery type of emergency without advance warning to the staff to ensure the training is sinking in. Editors' note: Ms. Graves has no related financial interests. Another essential is making sure employees know the quickest route out of the office. Among the many emergen- cy-related requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is that employers record employee training on emergency drills and emergency equipment, like fire extinguishers. So her office holds a combination training-competition with gift cards for the winners. But they also are receiving train- ing and documenting it for later OSHA review. OSHA requires that if a fire extinguisher is provided, the staff are trained on its use. "Send them YouTube [videos] and give them five questions that they have to answer on it—now I know you read it," Ms. Graves said. train on them, and believe they are prepared for emergencies, more is needed to be sure they are ready, Ms. Graves said. In the case of office emer- gency evacuations, managers can avoid the fatal scenario by ensur- ing every facility they operate at has a post-evacuation meet-up location, a process to tally that all staff made it out, and the staff need to know they cannot go until there is an accounting of their safety. Among internal safety pro- tocols, Ms. Graves urged offices to implement monthly checks of their offices for safety hazards, such as obstructed fire escapes. "Are there any frayed wires? Do you have the plugs in the outlets in the waiting areas?" Ms. Graves said. T he leading cause of death for managers during office emergencies is their decision to return to a dangerous situation to find staff members who already have left the scene. "That's pretty sobering," Dianna Graves, COMT, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, said during an ASOA course titled "Your Staff 's Not Ready!" The statistic aimed to under- score the personal price managers and their staff may pay for a lack of emergency preparedness. Although managers have emergency contingency plans, Your life could depend on office emergency training Ms. Graves shares statistics to highlight the personal price managers and their staff may pay for a lack of emergency preparedness.

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