Necessary Step to Ensure an Emergency Action Plan is
in Place
Contacts:
Robin Waxenberg
212-489-8006
Ellen
Satlof
972-532-8859
DALLAS,
August 1, 2012 – With preseason practices now underway and the start of fall
sports schedules around the corner, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association
(NATA) issued today an official statement recommending athletic health care
providers conduct a “Time Out” before athletic events to ensure emergency
action plans are reviewed and in place.
“This
is a necessary step that can help save lives and reduce the risk of acute,
chronic or fatal outcomes on the playing field,” says statement author Ron
Courson, ATC, PT, NREMT-I, CSCS, associate athletic director of sports medicine
for the University of Georgia Athletic Association. “Emergency situations can
arise at any time during a practice or game. Athletic trainers, sports medicine
doctors and other health care providers must provide the best possible care to
reduce those risks.”
The
new official statement was adapted from a “Time Out” concept developed by
Courson,
along
with Bert Mandelbaum, MD, and Lawrence J. Lemak, MD.
“Time
Out” is a common term both in sports and medicine. Coaches and athletes call
time outs to gather a team together and discuss game strategies or to call a
play. In medicine, doctors take a time out immediately before every surgery
when all operating room participants stop to verify the procedure, patient
identity, correct site and side.
Professional
sports leagues such as Major League Soccer will use the “Time Out” program this
season to test its effectiveness and acceptance of the concept. “This protocol
is critical to the immediate care of athletes at any level of sport,” says
Mandelbaum, orthopaedic surgeon with Santa Monica (Calif.) Orthopaedic and
Sports Medicine Group and the Chan Soon Shiong Sports Science Institute, and me
dical director for the World Cup. “This should be a required and universal
program.”
“Development
and review of an emergency action plan guarantees that a coordinated approach
is in place,” adds Lemak, founder of Lemak Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics
in Birmingham, Ala., who also serves as medical director of Major League Soccer
and is on the medical advisory
board
of the National Federation of State High School Associations. “Due to the relatively
low incidence rate of catastrophic injuries, we may develop a false sense of
security. This is a vital and necessary protocol that protects the athlete and
requires the medical team to be prepared under any circumstance.”
Highlights
of the official statement include:
1.
Athletic health care providers meet before the start of each practice or
competition to review the emergency action plan.
2.
Determine the role and location of each person present (i.e. athletic trainer,
emergency medical technician, medical doctor).
3.
Establish how communication will occur (voice commands, radio, hand signals);
what is the primary and secondary or back up means of communication.
4.
An ambulance should be present at all high-risk events. The medical staff
should know who
is
assigned to call for it; if it is on stand-by or required to be on-site; where
it is located, what routes it can take to enter and exit the field in the least
unencumbered manner.
5.
Ensure that in the event of transport, a hospital has been designated and is
the most appropriate facility for the injury or illness.
6.
Review and check/test all emergency equipment available to confirm it is in
working order and fully ready for use. For example, make sure all sports
medicine team members know where automated external defibrillators are and how
to use them.
7.
Consider any issues that could potentially impact the EAP (construction,
weather, crowd flow), and plan accordingly and in advance of sports
participation.
“These
recommendations give players, parents, administrators and team staff peace of
mind and ensure that there is a cohesive and immediate plan in place to manage
and treat injury,” adds Courson. “It’s a win-win for all involved.”
The
following individuals also contributed to the “Time Out” system: Josh Scott,
MD; Byron Patterson, MD; Robert Hancock, MD; Glenn Henry, NREMT-P; Ryan
McGovern, ATC; Fred Reifsteck, MD; David Sailors, MD; Kim Walpert, MD; Kelly
Ward, PA-C, ATC; and Philip Young, ATC, NREMT-B.
An
electronic version of the NATA official statement is available at:
About
NATA:< /o>
National
Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & Sport
Athletic
trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention,
diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related
illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports,
physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute
injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in
health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and
supports 35,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org
