School Bus First Aid Kits

First aid kits are a standard feature on schooldon't outstay their shelf life. Officials can monitor
buses continent-wide. While that basic white boxwhen a kit is installed on a bus and also make
with the Red Cross on the front is a familiar andrecord of the disposal of expired kits. Another
welcome symbol, seeing a first aid kit in place isway to ensure the safety and effectiveness of
not enough to guarantee that a school bus isfirst aid kits is to conduct random checks of their
well-equipped.contents - making sure all the necessary features
A recent accident in Florida brought home theare inside and opening some of the individual
fact that the simple presence of a first aid kit ispackages to make sure they're in good shape.
no indication of its contents and their usefulness.In Florida it was the gauze that went bad, a
In this particular case, people rushing to help aserious concern, since school bus kits generally
young bicyclist hit by a school bus found that thecontain several gauze pads and bandages. There
bus's first aid kit contained rotten gauze thatare other items contained in the kit that could also
disintegrated in their hands.degrade with the passage of time, including
This situation raises questions about school busadhesive strips or tape, eye pads, CPR face
safety checks and the effectiveness ofshields and ointments.
inspections that merely verify the bus has aAs school and transport safety officials have
sealed kit on board. With no expiry date and nobegun to realize, having well-stocked first aid kits
way to tell how long any particular kit has been inon school buses is not enough. The best stocked
place, officials can't judge the soundness of a firstkit in the world isn't any good if the contents
aid kit. In light of this, some school boards arehave outlived their usefulness - only organized
already taking steps.first aid kit tracking and more thorough
Tracking kits is one way to ensure that theyinspections can ensure a safe and effective kit.