NEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release
Contact:Daron Cowley801-442-2834[email protected]
11,575 MEDICAL CASES TREATED AT WINTER OLYMPICS
Salt Lake City, Utah, March 13, 2002 -- Of the 11,575 medical cases treated during the 2002 Winter Olympics, there were a few heart attacks, 16 instances of frostbite, and even 43 cases of altitude sickness. But overall, according to Intermountain Health Care (IHC), the medical services provider for the Games, most of the cases seen at Olympic clinics were not serious or life-threatening.
The 11,575 cases were treated at 35 temporary medical clinics set up at competition venues and other Olympic sites. The highest volume of persons treated was at the clinic in the Athlete Village with 2,080 cases, followed closely by the Main Media Center with 1,995. The indoor hockey venue of the E Center saw 814 cases, compared to the outdoor Utah Olympic Park, which treated 840 cases.
And the venue clinic location with the least amount of medical cases seen? The Park City Mountain Resort, venue for several skiing and snowboard events, saw only 162 patient visits.
In addition to the medical clinics, mobile medical teams, which circulated among the crowds at the venues and celebration sites treated 1,914 cases.
"Based upon previous Olympics, we'd estimated about 10,000 cases would be seen at the venue and village clinics during the Games," said Douglas R. Fonnesbeck, IHC Olympic Liaison. "It turned out that our estimates weren't off by much, and we were able to easily handle the volume of patients that needed help."
The top five most common medical conditions treated were:1. Respiratory infections 2. Physical therapy needs 3. Sprains and strains 4. Abrasions/contusions 5. Eye injury, irritation, or vision needs
Patients from 94 countries were treated at the clinics, with 49 percent of patients being visitors from outside the U.S. Athletes accounted for 1,377 of the medical visits, with the remainder being spectators, officials, media, contractors, venue volunteers and staff.
A total of 48 patients were transferred from the Olympic venues to hospitals and admitted for care. By comparison, in Nagano at the 1998 Winter Olympics, only 12 patients had health issues serious enough to be admitted to hospitals.
Five of IHC's hospitals were designated as Olympic Hospitals -- LDS Hospital in Salt Lake, McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Cottonwood Hospital in Murray, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and Heber Valley Medical Center in Wasatch County. The University of Utah Medical Center was also an Olympic Hospital.
"Overall, things went very smoothly for the Olympic medical services," said Fonnesbeck. "The medical volunteers and physicians were superb in providing care in a timely manner to all those who needed help."
IHC is also the provider of medical services for the Paralympic Games which run from March 7 to March 16.
IHC is a charitable, community-owned, nonprofit health care organization based in Salt Lake City that serves the health needs of Utah and Idaho residents. The IHC system includes health insurance plans, hospitals, clinics, and affiliated physicians.
# # #
(Photos of spectators receiving medical care are available. Please request by sending an email to [email protected])
RSS