Question about event safety

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apagea99

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Hey all,

Since I'm a noob I figured I'd ask those of you who know the ropes here. I just came back from my company's annual picnic and something struck me.....there was no EMS presence at all (there were several armed parking attendants and security guards though lol). I work for a decent sized company, and the attendance for this thing can hit 1,000+ easily. Add to that an unlimited supply of alcohol, the heat of summer, shuttle buses running between 2 locations all day, mechanical bulls, horse rides, those giant blow-up play things for kids, and the fact that our workforce is always high strung and you have a recipe for disaster. Should an event like this have a mandatory EMS presence? It seems like a pretty huge liability not to.

On a side note, I won a drawing for a guitar and left before all the drunks hit the road. :D
 
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Company has to pay to have EMS coverage at their event. Something you would want to bring up to the company.
 
They're paying for all of these people to walk around with guns, I would expect they'd pay for a medic or 2 as well. I'll try bringing it up and see what happens.
 
I've found that many companies just don't think about it, but are pretty receptive when it's suggested. Back home in Michigan we'd have EMS standby for large corporate events, sports games of all times, and big gatherings. I've found that not to be the case in North Carolina.
 
I have found having EMS at such events is a waste of EMS, company money and both parties time. Really, do we have to have an infirmary on all such occurrences? Can someone not call 911?

I get tired of the "what ifs" .. on every event from dog shows to cage fights.

Usually EMS can respond in a timely manner without really having their presence there. Train you security guards in first aid or first responder, (much cheaper) and that will be plenty sufficient in majority of the events.

R/r 911
 
Ridryder911 said:
I have found having EMS at such events is a waste of EMS, company money and both parties time. Really, do we have to have an infirmary on all such occurrences? Can someone not call 911?

I get tired of the "what ifs" .. on every event from dog shows to cage fights.

Usually EMS can respond in a timely manner without really having their presence there. Train you security guards in first aid or first responder, (much cheaper) and that will be plenty sufficient in majority of the events.

R/r 911
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Rid,

Very true, but it's often company policy or required by the city, state, or municipality. I can count on one hand the number of times I've worked a paid standby. I've worked countless events where we did it as a community service for no charge.
 
MMiz said:
Rid,

Very true, but it's often company policy or required by the city, state, or municipality. I can count on one hand the number of times I've worked a paid standby. I've worked countless events where we did it as a community service for no charge.
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We have quit that. If they want our service they will pay for it. Event though we are a third party. Most volunteer FD will first respond for sporting events, etc. We are way too busy to offer a unit for "stand-by". We go level zero (no available units) multiple times a day.

If one really wants professional medical care, then they will cough up the money; just alike for security, etc. If they do pay, we usually pay off duty medics over time for coverage.


R/r 911
 
i dont mind doing details like that. if the company is paranoid enough to pay for a detail emt, im happy to take their money. but it is unnecessary in most cases.
 
Ridryder911 said:
I have found having EMS at such events is a waste of EMS, company money and both parties time. Really, do we have to have an infirmary on all such occurrences? Can someone not call 911?

I get tired of the "what ifs" .. on every event from dog shows to cage fights.

Usually EMS can respond in a timely manner without really having their presence there. Train you security guards in first aid or first responder, (much cheaper) and that will be plenty sufficient in majority of the events.

R/r 911
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Pretty much my thoughts. I just did event standby earlier this week, though we were required there because of the nature of the event (auto-drifting exhibition). The company opted only to have BLS there, since ALS likely would have been a waste of money. We met the requirement of having one ambulance on scene. We were there primarily in case one of those super-modified Mustangs were to loose control and end up plowing into a concrete barrier or something. My partner and I saw what was going on (we weren't really sure of what was actually going on at this stand-by until we showed up and talked to the man in charge on scene) and pretty much decided that if anything happened, we were gonna have to call in FD for extrication anyways. Our boss sent us out in our brand new truck and gave us instructions to walk around and make ourselves visible when we got there ^_^

Stand-bys at racing events are great.
 
Ridryder911 said:
I have found having EMS at such events is a waste of EMS, company money and both parties time. Really, do we have to have an infirmary on all such occurrences? Can someone not call 911?

I get tired of the "what ifs" .. on every event from dog shows to cage fights.

Usually EMS can respond in a timely manner without really having their presence there. Train you security guards in first aid or first responder, (much cheaper) and that will be plenty sufficient in majority of the events.

R/r 911
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You may very well be right there. I don't know that they've ever had an actual emergency.....other than the year they almost had a riot when the beer ran out. I was just wondering how that worked. If they have to pay for it and it's not required by law, then that tells me why they don't do it.
 
I work part-time doing event medical standbys.

The city's convention center requires EMS presence at most of their events, including the bulk of set-up and take-down in the exhibit hall. They have a list of 3 companies that the events can contract with... and we get most of the work.

Much of this is a single EMT with BLS gear... we drive over in a wheelchair van. Bigger events have a BLS crew with an ambulance, and the biggest events get 2 EMT's and a medic... and we transport in that case.

Occasionally, we get an event that contracts with us to provide a physician and/or a nurse. Those are rare. Many of the trade shows are single EMT, perhaps a BLS crew for the biggest day of the event.


We also provide standbys for outdoor festivals, high-school sports events and even amateur/professional boxing.

Company policy is that we won't leave the event to transport unless we can leave a provider there (3+ crew members)... except in "life threatening emergencies" (this is our discretion, but in 3 years, I've never had a need to).


Most of our business on these are band aid requests... but at the bigger, public events, we see everything from long term medical issues (HTN, Diabetics) as well as active CVA's and cardiac events.

Apagea99 - are you SURE there WASN'T some sort of medical standby? Many times, espicially at the convention center, people are oblivious to the "First aid room" at the back of the hall... and the event management companies sometimes unintentionally hide the room with curtains, when they store stuff at the back of the hall. It also doesn't help that the convention center signage isn't great.

Many concert venues and fairgrounds also have first aid stations, and they are usually somewhere "behind scenes."
 
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Jon said:
Apagea99 - are you SURE there WASN'T some sort of medical standby? Many times, espicially at the convention center, people are oblivious to the "First aid room" at the back of the hall... and the event management companies sometimes unintentionally hide the room with curtains, when they store stuff at the back of the hall. It also doesn't help that the convention center signage isn't great.

Many concert venues and fairgrounds also have first aid stations, and they are usually somewhere "behind scenes."
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Well, I can't say that I inspected the entire area. The venue was a large, working Angus ranch that rents out their unused field space for events. I didn't see anything medical related, but I guess that doesn't mean it wasn't lurking somewhere. I've never been to an event where it was hidden though.

I honestly don't know why this struck me. I think I just find myself looking for EMS everywhere these days.
 
Jon is right about being behind the scenes. I've worked standbys where I've been:
1. Down the block in a rig
2. In the parking garage with a rig
3. Hidden in the kitchen/storage room with a fully stocked stretcher
4. In an office a ways away from the action

Especially when doing non-athletic events, many of the coordinators don't want you to be visible.

I did a VIP event where we had two BLS units, an ALS unit, and a Paramedic coordinator. I spent time in a parking lot, hidden in a kitchen, and in the corner with the stretcher.
 
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I had 1 medic rotation at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC for the MLB's all star weekend. What a waste of time. I think we handed out several bandaids.
 
Standbys, and standbys.

1. Horseracing: hurt jockeys (extremely stoic and need to go ride to make enogh money to survive); always hurt fans (usually ankle or knees from negotiating the stands), occasional CP or SOB.
2. Motocross: not much, mostly refusing to "tape it up" and let them ride.
3. State fair, USAF airshows: mostly PR, did BP screening.
4. Jr Peewee Football and cheerleading little league: mostly "owies", but some lower back injuries to kids under twelve (!!) at scrimmage. Having to determine if an injury is as serious as the pt says, usually not, and resist pressures to resume play NOW. Keeping kids from playing or being pressured to play when hurt. I quit.
5. Air Nat Guard deployments for training: trying to be pro-active regarding heat and sanitation and meals, heat exhaustion, hypothermia, carbon monoxide (twice), dehydration (white sweat), "owies", medical rumor control about food, water, etc., advising commanders about safety concerns, and occasional transport due to ortho or cardiopulmonary distress.

No uniform standard would apply due to differing circumstances, but cutting to the chase, applying commonsense precautions and not trying to treat beyond my training made it work. And credible threats to shut down events or get individuals expelled.;)
 
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Rodeo standbys are fun! There's always trauma!
 
Bossycow...rodeos....hmmmmm

Oh, hayel yes! Can you say "sprung shoulder"?
And the older riders are often already taking Vicodin or Percocet for chronic pain, (then maybe a little meth to put the edge back on). They ought to ride with a meds list and latest dose pinned to their shirt on their number.
 
That is a misconception brought on by movies!
 
reaper said:
That is a misconception brought on by movies!
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Not really. May be anecdotal based on my personal experience, but I've done my fair share of rodeo standbys and have a cousin who rode the professional circuit for decades like his daddy did before him.

Most of the riders are tough as nails, slow to complain, quick to deny injury and often heavily self medicated.
 
Yes, I rode for 17 years. When I was injured I was medicated, but I did not ride medicated or using other drugs. You have to be in top mental shape to compete. Riders today are not like the bums of 25 years ago, that just wanted to party. Most today are top athletes and work hard to stay that way. If you don't ride, you don't win money.!
 
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