Choking First Aid Measures including

The Heimlich Maneuver 

Andy was on a vessel in our fleet eating breakfast with a Wheelman when all of a sudden the Wheelman coughed, started convulsing and then slumped over in his chair. The Wheelman became unconscious, falling face first to the galley floor. Immediately, Andy's old Army first aid training took over.  Andy laid the victim on his back, placing his ear near the mouth to hear or feel any breath and watch for the rise and fall of the stomach. When Andy did not feel or hear any breathing nor see the stomach move he knew the Wheelman wasn't breathing. Andy then turned him over onto his stomach, placed his right arm around his belly, made a fist, and grabbed his fist with his left hand and thrust twice. The second thrust forced food out of the Wheelman's throat and instantly he regained consciousness and started breathing.  A bit of breakfast was dislodged from the Wheelman's throat and a life was saved!

Gordie and his wife, Ruth, had friends over one evening enjoying wine, cheese and assorted grapes.  All of a sudden Ruth began to gasp and clutch her chest.  Having recently taken a first aid refresher course, Gordie recognized the signs of choking and quickly got in position to use the Heimlich Maneuver.  After several hard compressions, a grape dislodged from Ruth's windpipe and came flying out.  Ruth quickly recovered.  Grapes are a common choking hazard for all ages.  Thankfully, this one was sent away with no lasting harm! 

Janis was at Disneyland waiting in line to ride a roller coaster when a tall, slim man near her began coughing, became silent and put both hands to his throat, and doubled over.  His family gathered around and could only watch in horror, not knowing what to do.  Without much thought, Janis took action, saying, "You're supposed to do this," as she spun the man around so he faced away from her, cupped her hands together to make a fist and placed them above the victim's waist, and pushed inward and upward. After a couple movements, something shot out of the man's mouth, flew past them, and landed on the ground.  A cough drop was the culprit!

What actually happens during choking? An object gets caught in the throat or esophagus (often referred to as the windpipe) and blocks the flow of air.  Food is often the cause, but with young children, it can be any small object they swallow that gets stuck. 

Because choking cuts off oxygen to the brain, first aid must be given as quickly as possible.

The universal sign for choking is hands clutched to the throat.  However, if a person is not giving this signal, look for these other signs:

• Inability to talk
• Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing
• Inability to cough forcefully
• Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky
• Loss of consciousness

For choking first aid, the Red Cross recommends a "five-and-five" approach.  The American Heart Association does not teach the back blow technique, but only The Heimlich Maneuver abdominal thrust procedure.  Back blows are not essential; either approach is acceptable.

• Give 5 back blows. First, deliver five back blows between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
• Give 5 abdominal thrusts. Perform five abdominal thrusts (The Heimlich maneuver).
• Alternate between 5 blows and 5 thrusts until blockage is dislodged.

 To perform The Heimlich Maneuver on another person:

• Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around their waist. Tip the person forward slightly.
• Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person's navel.
• Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the stomach with a quick, upward thrust, as if trying to lift the person.
• Perform a total of 5 abdominal thrusts, if needed. If the blockage still isn't dislodged, repeat the five-and-five cycle, or continue with The Heimlich maneuver abdominal thrusts.

If you are the only rescuer, perform back blows and/or abdominal thrusts before calling 911 or other emergency help. If another person is available to assist, one should perform first aid while the other calls for help.  If the victim becomes unconscious, perform standard CPR with chest compressions and rescue breathing.

 To perform The Heimlich Maneuver on yourself:  

First, if you are alone and choking and have a land line, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately. Even if you cannot speak, the land line number can be tracked to your location. 

Although you cannot effectively deliver back-blows to yourself, you can still perform abdominal thrusts to dislodge the item.

• Place a fist slightly above your navel.
• Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface such as a countertop or chair.
• Shove your fist inward and upward.

 Clearing the airway of a pregnant woman or obese person:

• Position your hands a little bit higher than normal for the Heimlich maneuver, at the base of the breastbone, just above the joining of the lowest ribs.
• Proceed as normal, pressing hard into the chest, with a quick thrust.
• Repeat until food or other blockage is dislodged or the person becomes unconscious. 

If the victim becomes unconscious, you must clear the airway:

• Lower the person on his or her back onto the floor.
• Clear the airway. If there's a visible blockage at the throat, reach a finger into the mouth and sweep out the object, being careful not to push food or another object deeper into the airway.
• Begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if the object remains lodged and the person does not respond to these measures. Chest compressions used in CPR may dislodge the object. Remember to check the mouth periodically for anything that you can remove.

401K Deadline & Enrollment Change

 

January 1, 2014 is near!

  

An opportunity to enroll in the Higman 401K plan is fast approaching.  

   

There is an important enrollment change this year.  You can no longer access or use the online form previously available on Higmanboats.com or the Higman Intranet.  

  

Instead, you must receive a copy of the booklet providing historical performance information.  The booklet contains the enrollment form you must use now.   

 

Your completed form must be received in the Houston Galleria office no later than December 20, 2013, in order to be processed in time for January 1, 2014, enrollment.  

Turkey Talk-Line: 1-800-BUTTERBALL

Good ideas need to be shared, refined and become "Best Practices". A "Best Practice" is defined as a method or technique which shows results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark.  In addition, a "Best Practice" can evolve to become better as improvements are discovered.

This column is dedicated to sharing the best practices developed while operating your tow. Each issue we will outline a "Best Practice" sent in by the fleet.  Share your Best Practice by sending to Gordie

This week's "Best Practice" is sent by the crew of the M/V SPINDLETOP:

"After breaking out the boat and bringing alongside the barge during a locking on the Tenn-Tom or Tennessee River, crewmembers rig a line or a "hoola-hoop" from a barge kevel to the "H" bit on the boat. If checking the line from the Barge side, the crewmember typically has to "lean" over the edge of the barge. From the barge deck to the boat, expect about a four foot drop.

But.....

If the crewmember is on the boat instead of the barge, you take the "lean" out of it. By standing lower than the barge kevel, the crewmember is protected by the bulwark and the "H" bit."  Standing on the boat is safer than standing on the barge in this locking operation"

Submitted by Relif Capt. Joseph Nelms, III. 

Navigation Tip of the Week

Set the Header Line.

When observing your tow moving down the ICW on the Rose Point electronic chart, you notice that the header line is slightly off. How can you fine tune your system to line up the header line straight down your barges?

Rose Point allows you to make adjustments in the "Heading Offset" to position your header line seen on the RP screen. The header line can be adjusted to the port (-) or starboard (+). Here is how to do it:

  

On the left hand side of the screen, open the menu drop down box.

1. Click on "Configure vessel and electronics".
2. Click on "Override own-ship sixe and GPS offset from AIS transponder".
3. Put your cursor in the "Heading Offset box"
   1. Use small increments, plus or minus, and then check where the header line ends up. You may have to adjust several times to get it right.

 
 

 

 

 

 

USCG rules are very clear regarding Navigational Safety Equipment required to be installed and operational on inland towing vessels.  The required equipment, as listed in 33CFR 164.72, is:

• Marine Radar
• Searchlight - must illuminate at least twice the length of the tow
• VHF radios - one for channel 16, one for channel 13 (or other local operational channel)
• Magnetic Compass - swing-meter acceptable if only operating in Western Rivers  
• Depth sounder - Western Rivers only operation exempt

But what are your responsibilities if one of these pieces of equipment becomes inoperative during a voyage?  33CFR 164.82 is clear in the event this happens en route:

• Use due diligence to have the radar, searchlight, VHF radio, depth sounder or compass that becomes totally incapacitated, fixed or replaced at "earliest practical time"
• Failure must be recorded in the log book or other record carried on board
• Capt. must consider factors such as weather, visibility, traffic and dictates of good seamanship in deciding if it is safe for the vessel to proceed
• Failure of the equipment, in itself, does not constitute a violation of this rule; nor does it constitute unseaworthiness; nor does it obligate the Captain to moor or tie up the vessel

There are specific reporting requirements that must be adhered to if a total failure occurs: 

• Failure of the equipment must be reported when transiting a VTS area
• If the radar cannot be repaired or replaced in 4 days, the COTP must be notified and a written request for deviation from requirements must be submitted
• When the vessel is equipped with two radars installed, failure of one does not require reporting or an authorization

How does this requirement fit with our Policy and Procedure Manual?

Navigation General Questions

You are approaching a light fitted with a RACON. The light may be identified on the radar by __________.

a. a dashed line running from the center of the scope to the light
b. an audible signal when the sweep crosses the light
c. a circle appearing on the scope surrounding the light
d. a coded signal appearing on the same bearing at a greater range than the light

You are using a radar in which your own ship is shown at the center, and the heading flash always points to 0°. If bearings are measured in relation to the flash, what type of bearings are produced?

a. Relative
b. True
c. Compass
d. Magnetic

Radar makes the most accurate determination of the __________.

a. direction of a target
b. distance to a target
c. size of a target
d. shape of a target

You have been observing your radar screen and notice that a contact on the screen has remained in the same position, relative to you, for several minutes. Your vessel is making 10 knots through the water. Which statement is TRUE?

a. The contact is dead in the water.
b. The contact is on the same course and speed as your vessel.
c. The contact is on a reciprocal course at the same speed as your vessel.
d. The radar is showing false echoes and is probably defective.

Which statement concerning the operation of radar in fog is TRUE?

a. Radar ranges are less accurate in fog.
b. Navigation buoys will always show up on radar.
c. A sandy beach will show up clearer on radar than a rocky cliff.
d. Small wooden boats may not show up on radar.

Nautical Trivia

A Christmas Rescue off of Galveston, 1909

The article below, found in the Galveston Daily News (January 15, 1910), reports the rescue of 5 men that may have been aboard a tug that had been missing for over a month. The men were picked up by a loaded sailing schooner on Christmas day that was on route to Europe. A message of the rescue of the crew was relayed through signal lamps to a passing oil ship (the S/S Winifred). 

Note: In 1910, the Wireless Ship Act was passed by the United States Congress, requiring all ships of the United States traveling over two-hundred miles off the coast and carrying over fifty passengers to be equipped with wireless radio equipment with a range of one-hundred miles. The legislation was prompted by a shipping accident in 1909, where a single wireless operator saved the lives of 1200 people.

Five men, who it is thought, may be the missing crew of the tug Jimmie supposes to have been lost early in December, were picked up in the gulf by an unknown schooner on Christmas Day. The men it was said were helplessly riding the waves in a metallic lifeboat, such as was on the Jimmie when she left Sabine for Galveston.

 

Capt. Jenkins of the oil steamer Winifred reported that he saw the lumber laden schooner on Christmas Day bound for Colon. He stated that the schooner signaled to him that she had picked up five men and a metallic boat about one hundred miles off of Galveston. Capt. Jenkins was unable to make out the name of the Colon-bound schooner.

 

From what little information that can be gleaned from Capt. Jenkins's story, it is no doubt but that the five men rescued where the men missing from the Jimmie. Efforts were made to reach the Winifred by wireless.  It is figured that the schooner bearing the five men will reach Cologne in about forty days.

 

SS Winifred, a 2551 gross ton freighter, was built in 1898 at Bath, Maine, for employment in the "tramp" trade. Later used as an oil tanker by the Gulf Refining Company.

 

Stern Shots 

Capt. David Jones of M/V Rockfish presents Gordie with an "office warming" gift for the new Training Center.  Javier Rangel helped David hand craft various knots, paint nautical letters to spell "HTCO" and varnish a picture of a fish to represent "Rockfish."  Many thanks for this unique and thoughtful gift!

Meet the first Higman Deckhand Academy graduates, with instructors Andy Worley, Dennis Zink and Gordie Keenan.

Dennis conducts a Team Building survival exercise during Higman Deckhand Academy training.

Deckhands observe and learn atop the Wheelhouse

Misty windy weather lurks down the waterway past the offices.  Even the birds took refuge!

GORDIE KEENAN
KELLY CLEAVER

JANIS ANDERSON

DENNIS ZINK