Personal health is very important to workplace health. It seems too easy to consider your co-workers’ or your subordinates’ personal heath as being a private matter and none of your business when you are in the workplace. At the same time, who wouldn’t try to help a colleague if something happens while in the workplace? We are not talking about someone who might have the cold or the flu not staying home when they know they are sick; of course if something is contagious it becomes everyone’s business at the workplace.

[IMAGE CREDIT: Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, via Flickr]While many strokes are not caused by workplace conditions, chances are decent that a stroke may occur in a workplace. Check for indicators of a stroke and act fast to keep your co-worker safe.

What we are talking about here are those  important health events  that  seem to come out of nowhere and distract the workplace. These kinds of things become our business, and that includes us showing compassion and concern for our co-workers and being observant for possible trouble. For example, did you know that a stroke happens about every 40 seconds in the U.S.?  Over the course of an average eight-hour work day, that means there are more than 700 strokes that can occur and about 3,500 strokes during an average work week. That is about 180,000 such events in a year, so there is a chance that someone who reads this may be around someone who has a stroke. If it happens in your workplace, do you know what to look for and what to do?

In recent years, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have been putting out some media public-service announcements to help Americans look out for indicators of a stroke that may be currently happening, and it is best described as a mnemonic device known as F.A.S.T. If you are able to observe fast and act fast, you can help your co-worker get help when needed and keep your workplace  safe and secure.

F.A.S.T. refers to the physical signs of a stroke. Let’s go through each letter one at a time to share  these stroke signs so you can watch for them among you colleagues.

F – Face. When you or a co-worker smiles or talks, does one side of the smile or facial muscles seem to droop compared to the other side?

A – Arms. Have your colleague raise both arms out in front. Does one arm seem to drop as if the person is weak in one arm, where he or she cannot keep an arm raised?

S – Speech. Is your colleague slurring his or her speech, or seemingly mumbling and is hard to understand? When you ask the person to repeat back a simple sentence to you, does the co-worker repeat it back clearly?

T – Time. Time to call 9-1-1 to get medical attention for the co-worker. Even if the previous symptoms subside (which they may in some cases), do not call off the medical attention; it is always better to err on the side of caution.

While your workplace health and safety program may be primarily focused on getting rid of workplace risks and hazards to keep co-workers safe and healthy, but a good health and safety program can also involve co-workers watching out for each other when there is a health issue that is not caused by the workplace but happens at the workplace. The biggest advantage to a good health and safety program is having an observant and vigilant work force that watches out for everyone on the floor and in the field.