Health system staffed 35 clinics for Olympics
March 1, 2002 3 minutes read
Health system staffed 35 clinics for Olympics
Spectators and athlete populations are served
Whenever a large special event such as the Super Bowl or the World Series comes to a town, incredible pressure is placed on health care systems as the local population instantly — and dramatically — increases. Multiply that pressure many times over and you get some idea of what faced Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health Care (IHC), which was chosen to be the medical service provider for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, held Feb. 8-24.
Intermountain had much more to prepare for than just an anticipated increase in patients at its existing facilities in the Salt Lake metro area. It had to staff 35 temporary medical clinics at the various venues, to handle an anticipated 10,000 patient encounters. "Perhaps our greatest challenge has been the complexity of the task, and the sheer size of it," says Douglas R. Fonnesbeck, MPH, IHC’s Olympic liaison, who spoke to QI/TQM shortly before the Olympic Games began. "In order to serve both the athlete population and the spectators, we will end up with 35 clinics within a 150-mile range." Those clinics are in operation as QI/TQM goes to press.
While the overall template for the clinics is a consistent one, each location had to be customized to provide the appropriate care for specific populations. Every sports venue has two clinics: one for spectators, workers, and volunteers, and the other for athletes. Clinics for outdoor events are mostly trailers with plastic shelves, benches, and curtains. For indoor events, clinics already are set up. Every clinic is staffed by volunteer health care professionals.
"But you just can’t create one model for all venues," Fonnesbeck says. "The athletes in each venue have unique needs. Cross-country events usually involve respiratory issues, as opposed to . . . speed skaters, who often have shoulder injuries, puncture wounds, and potentially, eye wounds." Adding to that complexity, he says, is the emergency medical system (EMS) component. "In some clinics, like at cross-country skiing, we have EMTs [emergency medical technicians] all over with packs for both populations," he notes.
Staffing also varies. "We have tried in physician staffing to pull in professionals with related experience," Fonnesbeck explains. "In hockey, for example, we pulled in professional sports people who have worked hockey events." There are 1,300 volunteers in all, and each area has a venue leader and supervisor, mostly IHC staff. "We picked physicians, nurses, and physiotherapists who are familiar with the local area," he notes. This familiarity already has paid off. One physician was notified about an NBC executive who needed blood tests. "They knew exactly who to call at our hospital," Fonnesbeck says. "Without that knowledge, there could have been hours and hours of delays."
Athletes’ clinics have two nurses, two physicians, and two therapists on each shift. During the event, there also are mobile-medical and EMS staff present. The spectator clinics are "fairly standard," says Fonnesbeck, with one notable difference: Due to the high altitude, contingency plans were made to have oxygen on hand. "We have 174 emergency resuscitation kits available if needed. If your body is not accustomed to being 7,500 feet above sea level, you could suddenly find yourself short on red blood cells."
The volunteer medical staff expect to encounter everything from minor sprains to influenza — in other words, what is seen in the general population. However, IHC also is prepared for something potentially more dangerous. "We have encounter sheets that are completed for each visit, which can be sent to our own clinic and to the [Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention], if necessary, for review," he says. "This way, if a trend starts that appears to be an infectious disease, we can handle it fairly quickly." (For an example of the form, click here.)
Fonnesbeck notes that this is, indeed, a unique experience. "For a short time, we have a sampling of the whole world here." This also raises unique medical challenges. "The way they write prescriptions in Russia would not be recognized here. But we’ve trained our people to recognize it. Also, in Utah, since local churches send missionaries all around the world, we have people who are very good at foreign languages."
For more information, contact: Douglas R. Fonnesbeck, MPH, Olympic Liaison, Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City. Telephone: (801) 442-3402. E-mail: [email protected].
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