First aid at UBC has recently undergone some changes, and the Vancouver campus is now supported by a team of first aid professionals with over 100 years of combined experience.
The centralized Occupational First Aid (OFA) team on the Vancouver campus provides all faculty, staff and student-staff members with first aid services, and can be reached 24 hours a day by dialing 604-822-4444 or 2-4444 from any UBC landline. Services expect to arrive at incidents anywhere on campus* within 10-15 minutes.
The Occupational First Aid team is made up of highly trained professionals from a broad range of medical backgrounds, including members who have worked in the military and medical hospitals. Dustin Szeto, First Aid Program Advisor, coordinates the team and said “We’re lucky to benefit from such an experienced Occupational First Aid team. Between them they have over 100 years’ experience and have provided medical support in all kinds of different settings. They have the most recent training and are kept well informed about updates to procedure and best practice.”
Amir and Lisa, two members of the Occupational First Aid team, with their service vehicle OHS1.
“We currently have one dedicated first aid vehicle (pictured left), and we’ll be getting a custom-built ambulance this year too,” Szeto added. “This will allow us to provide a higher level of care anywhere on campus while ensuring our patients are treated in a private setting.”
The OFA program is not a replacement for emergency services, and in the event of a medical emergency the first thing anyone should do is call 911. If the emergency is on campus, a great way to support the situation would be to call the Occupational First Aid team after 911. The team’s location means they will likely arrive on scene before an ambulance does, and may be able to provide critical support in the precious few minutes after an incident.
The Occupational First Aid program currently serves UBC employees; that is faculty, staff and student-staff members. If students or visitors require first aid they should head to the UBC Hospital if they are able to — Student Health Services and the Urgent Care Centre will be able to support them as appropriate. In the event of any emergency, they should dial 911.
To find out more about first aid on UBC’s Vancouver campus, head to srs.ubc.ca/firstaid.
*Some locations on campus, for example UBC Hospital, have their own local first aid procedure, which should be followed instead of calling Occupational First Aid.