It allows those trained with the potentially life saving ability to assist an injured or ill person during a variety of emergency situations.
In situations such as someone ingests a harmful substance, suffers from a heart attack, a seizure or stroke, is involved in a motor vehicle accident or is caught in a natural disaster, a person trained and knowledgeable in even the very basics of First Aid can be of extreme importance in assisting the injured person(s) until emergency responders arrive. The more people that are First Aid trained and knowledgeable the more the community as a whole benefits.
Knowledge in First Aid benefits the individuals themselves regardless of whether an emergency affects them directly or involves people they live and work with. First Aid can and often lessens the severity of an emergency in a given time and place
While everyone can benefit from First Aid knowledge and training it is an even greater benefit to those working or living with individuals who require ongoing special attention or treatment such as children, persons with physical or mental disabilities, persons with chronic illness, persons with disorders such as epilepsy, the elderly, persons involved in recreational activities such as swimming or people working in dangerous environments such as a factory or construction site.
