1. Are you ready? Emergency action plans for the injured athlete
Aaron D. McDonald, EdS, LAT
Calcasieu Parish School Board/
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital

2. Why are Emergency action Plans (EAP) important?
Emergency action plans provide guidelines and templates for documentation of emergency planning to help prepare individuals for a catastrophic injury situation within sports.
The top causes of sudden death in sport: cardiac, head injuries, exertional sickling, asthma, anaphylaxis, direct trauma, and weather related incidents

3. EAPs – Best Practice Recommendations
Every school should develop an EAP for each of its venues
Every EAP should be developed and coordinated with local EMS, public safety, on site medical personnel and sit administration.
All staff members should have a written copy of the EAP.
EAP specific to each venue should include maps, specific directions and marked locations of on-site emergency equipment.

4. EAPs – Best Practice Recommendations (cont.)
EAP should identify key personnel and their responsibilities, as well as chain of command.
Should specify documentation actions that need to be taken post emergency.
EAP should be reviewed and rehearsed annually by all parties involved.

5. Implementation Sequence
Essential framework
Key Personnel
Basic Equipment
Implementation Sequence

6. Key personnel
Athletic Trainers
Coaches
Administrators
Emergency Medical Services
Security
Custodial Staff
Parents that are willing to assist

7. Basic Equipment
Keys
Laminated EAP Postings
CPR/AED/FA Training for Coaches
First Aid Kits
AEDS and other Medical Emergency Equipment

8. Implementation sequence
Identify what you do well and are already prepared for
Identify what you can improve upon
Increase knowledge by reviewing example documents
Consider who your “key personnel” are
Consider all possible venues

9. Implementation sequence (cont.)
Draft a general EAP
Have several people review the EAP
Create a final EAP
Post the EAP in several different locations
Revisit EAP and rehearse annually

10. NOT A GOOD PLAN…

11. A good Plan…

12. “Time out”
The NATA recommends a “TIME OUT” system be adopted for athletic health care.
The purpose of the TIME OUT is to go through a pre-event checklist reviewing the venue’s emergency action plan with all athletic health care professionals on the emergency response team.
Helps to produce a decisive, coordinated emergency response and outcome and is critical to ensure the athlete receives the best care should an emergency arise.

13. Time out checklist
Athletic healthcare providers meet before start of event to review EAP
Determine roles and locations of providers
Establish how communication will occur, means of communication, back up methods
Location of ambulance, routes for entry/exit, means for calling ambulance if none present
Designated hospital determined
Presence, location and working order of emergency equipment
Assess potential impacts on EAP (construction, weather, crowd flow, etc.)

14. questions? Aaron McDonald aaron.mcdonald@cpsb.org
ext. 3501