Media contact: Norise Jastillana Telephone: 1-800-240-2221 [email protected]
CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER PREPARES FOR MAJOR, MINOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES AT LOS ANGELES MARATHON
LOS ANGELES (March 8, 1999) -- It's every athlete's worst nightmare. Just after passing the finish line at last year's Los Angeles Marathon, a middle-aged runner literally dropped dead. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center volunteers from the nearby "MASH" station rushed to his side and determined he had no pulse. Medical volunteers immediately began CPR. The patient, who had no history of serious health problems, was rushed to a nearby hospital and, fortunately, survived the medical crisis.
"We know we can do anything from popping a blister to reviving a patient -- all right there on the race course," said Rosemary Hutton, who is coordinating the Los Angeles Marathon medical team for the 12th year. Rosemary works with Cedars-Sinai, medical sponsor of the marathon, to arrange for the medical volunteers, equipment and supplies needed to treat the nearly 250 runners who require care each year. "While there are not a lot of serious injuries, we have to be prepared for everything from very minor to really major medical problems."
Rosemary remembers another close call during a race held when the weather was unseasonably warm. A runner appeared at the finish line aid station complaining of lightheadedness and then just crumpled in the doorway. His core body temperature was an alarming 107 degrees.
"He had three doctors and five nurses packing every part of his body with ice," she recalled. "There were four IVs going -- he was very dehydrated and disoriented. After four hours, he got up and walked out, seemingly none the worse for wear."
Insufficient fluid intake was the culprit in this case -- and too many others, Rosemary added. "Some people still refuse to drink enough fluids." Typical signs of dehydration include lack of perspiration, disorientation, falling down and goose bumps. Other common marathon medical problems are blisters, which can be tended to at a special foot treatment tent, and severe chafing, including bleeding arms, legs and even nipples for male runners.
Race organizers attempt to combat these ailments with 350 pounds of petroleum jelly, which is provided via "high fives" or scooped handfuls at every water and medical station along the course. "We used to pass out the petroleum jelly on tongue depressors, but then we noticed some of the runners were eating it -- obviously, we had to discontinue that method of distribution," Rosemary said.
The 10 medical "mile" stations are stocked with moleskin, bandages, antiseptic, aspirin and other pain killers, blood pressure cuffs, cold packs and adhesive tape. At the finish line, the "MASH" station has an expanded retinue of equipment and supplies, including IV fluids and poles, a crash cart, blankets, needles, syringes and hot packs.
"We learned in 1995, if runners are cold their veins won't come up, so we need to use hot packs," she recalled of a particularly chilly marathon.
Planning for the big event begins in September and October of the preceding year, when Rosemary orders necessary supplies. In early January, announcements soliciting medical volunteers are mailed to nearly 1,000 potential participants. Preparations begin in earnest in February with packing of supplies and orientation sessions for volunteers. "We assign them to various functions and work together with the goal of making sure the volunteers have a great time while providing this valuable service," Rosemary explained.
The week before the race is busy with coordinating orders with the hospital's various departments -- warehouse, pharmacy, receiving -- as well as rechecking everything, including cell phones, gas carts and food orders. On the Friday and Saturday prior to the marathon, supplies and tents are loaded on the medical vans in preparation for race morning.
At 6 a.m. Sunday, March 14 approximately 300 volunteers will gather at Cedars-Sinai's cafeteria, and then load into the medical vans at 7 a.m. Each van is staffed with 12 volunteers, including a physician, nurse, various other health care personnel and a number of "recorders" and "lubers" to distribute the petroleum jelly.
"We have a wonderful group of volunteers, including orthopedists, trauma nurses, emergency room physicians and other highly trained medical personnel," Rosemary said. "Some have been volunteering from the very beginning, so they're like 'professional volunteers.'
Though Rosemary can easily rattle off the seemingly endless steps required to put this extensive medical effort in place, it's obviously no easy task. "This 'part-time' position becomes more like a 'full-time' job in January and February," she said. "But it's really like falling off a log to me now."
Cedars-Sinai is the largest nonprofit hospital in the western United States and is internationally renowned for the best patient care that modern medicine has to offer. In the largest independent survey of its type in the nation, the hospital was recently named a Quality Leader for providing healthcare services most preferred by consumers. This marks the fifth two-year period in a row that the hospital has been identified as Southern California's gold standard in healthcare.
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