Ensuring a positive guest experience is important for all public gardens. Unfortunately, minor injuries occur when exploring or working in natural spaces reinforcing the need for a robust incident response plan including first aid. Whether it be a guest, employee or volunteer, it is important to be ready and trained to assist those in need of care.
Furthermore, under OSHA’s general industry regulations, employers must train a person (or persons) to provide first aid if there is no clinic, infirmary or hospital near the workplace. In these situations, you must also make first aid supplies readily available.
What items are essential to include in a first-aid kit for a public garden? OSHA offers employers two guidelines for building a first-aid kit:
- Public Gardens should look at their workplace injury and illness records to determine the types of injuries their employees/guests are most likely to encounter; and
- Public Gardens should refer to the American National Standard Institute’s (ANSI) 2021 publication titled “Minimum Requirements for Workplace First-aid Kits and Supplies” and use it as an illustration of what should be included in a basic first-aid kit.
Lastly you should consider whether additional national, industry, state or local regulations may apply. These guidelines are applicable to both employee and guest injuries. Here is a list of items recommended by the 2021 ANSI standard.
See attached document for more information.
