All employees need to know how to handle an injury — from patient care to filling out an injury report.

want to check state law or with your legal counsel to see if they meet standard state requirements. You should also establish ground rules for medical staff who enter your rink with visiting teams.

In most communities across the

United States, emergency medical services are provided by the local fire department. Off-duty firefighters make excellent part-time employees in skating rinks. You have the benefit of employees who work with mechanical equipment every day and are easy to train, plus you have an EMT on duty at the rink.

Sending rink employees to be trained

as EMTs is possible. However, the course can run for more than six months and EMT training is usually provided by local

community colleges, hospitals or fire departments in conjunction with the area Emergency Medical Services system.

Many rinks hire EMTs to provide

medical coverage at high-profile events such as college and high school hockey games. Should you find that most of the injuries in your rink occur during public skating sessions or perhaps during senior hockey games, you might consider retaining an EMT at those times.

EMTs are also capable of providing first aid training to your staff. Basic first aid courses should be provided to all skating rink employees. Understanding what not to do in case of injury can be as important as knowing what to do.

Every skating rink should have several

employees trained in CPR. Tis life- saving skill can be taught at the rink by local instructors. A basic first aid course should be presented to your entire staff, especially to skate guards, annually by a qualified teacher.

Documentation on how an injury

occurred and the services provided the victim by rink staff can be important, should litigation follow. All employees need to know how to handle an injury — from patient care to filling out an injury report. Check with your insurance company for information on incident reports, or see the 2015 edition of the ISI Instructor Manual for guidelines for a safe skating environment, rink liability information, a sample incident report, a skate-at-your-own-risk waiver and emergency first aid information.

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