Abstract --
Objectives: To educate athletic trainers and others about the
need for emergency planning, to provide guidelines in the development
of emergency plans, and to advocate documentation
of emergency planning.
Background: Most injuries sustained during athletics or other
physical activity are relatively minor. However, potentially
limb-threatening or life-threatening emergencies in athletics and
physical activity are unpredictable and occur without warning.
Proper management of these injuries is critical and should be
carried out by trained health services personnel to minimize risk
to the injured participant. The organization or institution and its
personnel can be placed at risk by the lack of an emergency
plan, which may be the foundation of a legal claim.
Recommendations: The National Athletic Trainers? Association
recommends that each organization or institution that
sponsors athletic activities or events develop and implement a
written emergency plan. Emergency plans should be developed
by organizational or institutional personnel in consultation with
the local emergency medical services. Components of the
emergency plan include identification of the personnel involved,
specification of the equipment needed to respond to the emergency,
and establishment of a communication system to summon
emergency care. Additional components of the emergency
plan are identification of the mode of emergency transport,
specification of the venue or activity location, and incorporation
of emergency service personnel into the development and implementation
process. Emergency plans should be reviewed
and rehearsed annually, with written documentation of any
modifications. The plan should identify responsibility for documentation
of actions taken during the emergency, evaluation of
the emergency response, institutional personnel training, and
equipment maintenance. Further, training of the involved personnel
should include automatic external defibrillation, cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, first aid, and prevention of disease
transmission.
Key Words: policies and procedures, athletics, planning, catastrophic
