On June 28, 2023, an office employee at an automated material handling manufacturer in Wisconsin suffered a heart attack. The employee was walking the production floor when he collapsed to the ground, hitting, and breaking his nose. One of the company's designated first aid responders quickly responded and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while another employee called 911. When CPR was not successful, the company's Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was used. The AED restarted the employee's heart. The employee was transported by ambulance to the local hospital, where he survived. A large amount of blood was left at the scene of the incident.

The company's first visit from Wisconsin On-Site Consultation (WisCon) was in 2020. WisCon helped the company draft a written bloodborne pathogens (BBP) exposure control plan, which outlined emergency response and spill cleanup procedures and included a preventative Hepatitis B vaccination series. WisCon also helped the company in acquiring an appropriate BBP disinfectant. Starting in 2020, WisCon had been performing BBP training for the company on an annual basis. All of this worked to ensure that the company's designated first aid responders—and all other bystander employees—were protected from potentially life-threatening BBPs during the 2023 incident. As evidence of the effectiveness of the company's written procedures and training, the local fire department expressed how impressed they were with the company's response and cleanup.

The employee who suffered the heart attack said after these events, “It scares me to think of what might have happened to me or anyone else if our team was any less prepared or adequately supplied.”

The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards and how to fix them, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, train and educate workers, and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs. On-Site Consultation services are separate from OSHA enforcement efforts. To locate the OSHA On-Site Consultation program nearest you, call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit www.osha.gov/consultation.