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Pledges

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Link 6: Proper Equipment
The following is a comprehensive list of the fundamental equipment necessary for MEP readiness in your office. Even if the entire team is expertly trained, these items are irreplaceable and highly important to your facility and patient’s safety. Your staff must understand the purpose of each item as well as how to use or operate these efficiently and effectively. In many cases, this will require further training (i.e. AED) and frequency of use to gain a familiarity with the practical application of these life-saving machines and products. Mock drills and open forum discussions are ways to gain this mastery. Additionally, it is vital to perform routine maintenance and equipment checks often, tracking these dates, times, and surveyors to ensure that the equipment is kept in optimal operational capacity. Equipment updates, information, and education are also essential to maintaining a Six Links of Survival™ office. The proper training, the proper plan, and the proper equipment allow the proper people to provide patient safety – always.

Highlights

Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

  • The only treatment for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), use of AED is taught in all CPR/BLS courses
    Monitors
  • Glucose monitor (Inspection is required to assure the battery is working and the test strips have not expired.)
  • A stethoscope
  • A method of taking blood pressures
  • Aneroid sphygmomanometers typically are made with the cuff permanently attached. Therefore, multiple sizes are necessary. A typical dental office needs at least three sizes available: adolescent (or small adult), standard adult and large adult. The anticipated clientele of a practice (e.g., pediatric dentistry) may require different or a wide range of sizes.
  • Automatic blood pressure machines designed for home monitoring are inaccurate at low blood pressures and should not be relied upon during an emergency.
  • Hospital-grade automatic blood pressure machines may be reliably used during an emergency. However, a manual backup should be available in the event of device failure.

Oxygen Source

  • A portable oxygen source (E-tank, holding apparatus, regulator and universal oxygen port.)
  • A supplemental oxygen source (This may be a second E tank of oxygen or a nitrous oxide unit.)
  • A portable nitrous oxide unit with multiple oxygen tanks meets the requirement for both an oxygen source and a reserve, if it is fitted with a universal oxygen port.

Supplies to Supplement a Breathing Patient

  • Nasal cannula (3)
  • Non-rebreathing masks (3)

Supplies to Assist a Non-breathing Patient

  • A set oral-pharyngeal airways in seven sizes
  • A pocket mask
  • A disposable bag-valve-mask (commonly called a BVM or Ambu® bag)

Supplies to Assist a Patient with an Obstructed Airway That Cannot Be Cleared By Non-Invasive Means

  • A commercially available Cricothyrotomy Kit

    • or

  • 10 GA. Angiocatheter
  • 5 cc Syringe with the Needle Removed
  • No. 7 Endotracheal Tube

Other Supplies

  • Paper Bag
  • Backup Suction
  • Magill Forceps
  • Thermometer
  • Medical Tape
  • Flashlight
  • Penlight
  • Pen and Paper to record history of the event (commercial forms are also available)

An office that has the Six Link of Survival™ in place on a continual, active basis is a patient-rescue-ready office. If not, the safety and wellbeing of staff and patients is threatened. If your office is Six Link™ ready, take advantage of listing your practice on the RMBF, Inc. website free-of-charge by taking the Six Links™ Pledge. A great initiative deserves to be celebrated. Join the list and let your patients know that your word is your promise and your promise is protection.