First aid: maximizing the chances

World First Aid Day is the perfect opportunity to highlight the everyday contribution of first aid teams. They are – literally – vital in ensuring that all Sollio Agriculture employees feel safe. Sometimes, they even save lives.
 

This story about Sylvain Villeneuve is a prime example. In January 2023, the forklift operator trainer at the Sollio Agriculture distribution centre in Longueuil started feeling abdominal and chest pains during his afternoon break.

“I thought I was having digestion problems with my lunch,” he recalls. Sylvain is also the co-chair of the facility’s health and safety committee. His co-workers had also started to notice that something was off. “Normally, he’s always joking around during breaks, pointed out fellow forklift operator Robert Dion. That day, he was really quiet.”

Immediately after the break, Sylvain Villeneuve went to the washroom. After a few minutes, Robert Dion became suspicious. “I called him on his walkie-talkie, and he told me he was in the washroom. I didn’t answer. There comes a point when you must let a guy do his business in peace,” he remembers with a chuckle.

As luck would have it, shortly after, Robert Dion saw the washroom door open, his co-worker on his knees, hands on his chest, calling out for help.

“I immediately raced over to alert my supervisor, Danielle, before heading back to help Sylvain,” explained Robert Dion.

For her part, Danielle Desbiens went to get the closest first aid worker, Marc-André Richer, and immediately called 911.

When the first aid worker arrived, Sylvain Villeneuve had already made his own diagnosis. “I’m having a heart attack! That’s what I said to Marc-André,” remembers Sylvain, who himself has been a first aid worker for 20 years.

Marc-André Richer immediately asked the co-workers gathered around them to get the defibrillator in case they needed it. He then assisted Sylvain until the paramedics arrived. “I stayed calm, and kept talking to Sylvain to reassure him,” noted Marc-André.

.  Once the paramedics took over, Sylvain was brought to Pierre-Boucher hospital, where he was immediately treated for a blocked artery. After several months of rehabilitation, he is now back at work, extremely grateful for his co-workers’ reactions. “My doctor told me I was lucky. It could have all turned out quite differently if I’d been out in the woods camping.”

Investing in training for first aid staff

Employees’ health and safety is paramount at Sollio Agriculture especially for that. We take great pride in working relentlessly to ensure that every facility in the network complies with the legal requirements, noted OHS manager Gabriel Lefebvre. “The chance factor is beyond our control, but the training for our first aid staff in our workplace is,” he emphasizes. Thanks to them, Sylvain is back on his feet and can keep joking around with his co-workers during the afternoon breaks.

Thanks to everyone who helped save the life of Sylvain Villeneuve: Robert Dion, Laurie Boquet, Danielle Desbiens and Marc-André Richer.