Millersville University: Click for home page

 
tab-left
AthleticsHealth ServicesWellness-Sport-Sciences

Emergency Action Plan

This plan is provided to serve as a guide for emergency action required in the Athletic Training Room, Pucillo Gymnasium, Brooks Hall, Biemsderfer Stadium, or any playing or conditioning area on the Millersville University Campus used by the Intercollegiate Athletic Program.

THE ROLE OF THE WORK STUDY STUDENT IS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. Prepare the athletes for practice and competition. (Tape, provide ice and water at event sites)
  2. Provide Basic First Aid in the event of an injury.
  3. Activate emergency procedures in the event of an injury.

It is NOT the role of the work study student to determine if and when an injured athlete is able to safely return to practice or competition. It is the coach's decision and responsibility as to when and whether the athlete returns to practice or competition if the Certified Athletic Trainer is not present.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

A member of that teams coaching staff should supervise all practices, conditioning and weight training sessions. This is for safety reasons and for insurance purposes. Any unsupervised activity is not covered by the University's athletic insurance policy.

Athletic training staff coverage of practices can only be accomplished with appropriate notification. Coaches should make every effort to keep the Athletic Training Staff informed of changes in schedule. Please try to call or leave a message. Notification through students will not be accepted. Athletic training room personnel will cover all scheduled practices ONLY AFTER 24 HOURS notification. Weekend practices will be covered after (2) day's notification. Notification respecting these time limitations will guarantee athletic training room personnel coverage.

If an athletic team has not showed up by the time practice is scheduled to start then the student or staff athletic trainer will leave.

Coverage by athletic training staff will be determined by that sports potential risk for injury, in season or out of season, and staff availability.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

Coaches Pre Practice/Event Site Responsibilities:

Is the area itself safe for participation? Is an Athletic Trainer available with a radio? If not, have planned access to a telephone. Know the location of a telephone closest to your event area. If building is locked do you have a key?

A set plan as to how the ambulance will access the field/area if necessary) should be pre-arranged prior to any incident. If there are gates to get through--are they locked? Who has keys? Who will you send to greet the ambulance and guide them to the scene? (at MU, campus police will usually arrive to help direct the ambulance in)

Event areas have phones located in the following areas:

Pucillo

Pool Phone in coach's office and outside hallway Wrestling Room Phone in coaches office Basketball, Soccer fields, Softball, Lacrosse, Spoils Field - Campus phone in south lobby or athletic training room

Brooks

Gym, Field Hockey, Tennis Courts, Pool, Weight Room - Campus phone in south hallway or athletic training room

Stadium

Track, Football practice field - Campus phone in football locker room or athletic training room

McComsey Tennis Courts - Campus phone available in McComsey Hall. For weekend matches campus security should be called to guarantee building is open.

At away events is there a certified athletic trainer present or available? If a certified athletic trainer is not present, is a student athletic trainer present? Where and who are they? Is there easy access to a phone or communication?

Emergency Procedures for Injured Athletes:

  1. Assess injury(general impression of athlete, chief complaint/apparent life threats) and call for athletic trainer if available but not present.
  2. Assess airway and breathing. Assure adequate ventilation.
  3. Assess circulation. Assess for and control major bleeding. Assess pulse. Assess skin (color, temperature and condition).
  4. In the absence of an athletic trainer determine whether the injury is life threatening. Follow appropriate procedures and initiate EMS system.
  5. For EMS dial 9-911 on campus and 911 off campus. Provide all necessary information to dispatch. i.e. location, nature of injury, what if any first aid has been provided, etc.
  6. Stay with the athlete until proper medical attention has been provided.
  7. In a life-threatening situation, the ATC/SAT/coaches' responsibilities would be to stabilize the injured athlete to the limits of first aid and CPR, call EMS, and/or refer to the proper medical facility if/when such action is appropriate.

For injuries that are not life threatening:

Summon the athletic training staff or transport the athlete to the nearest athletic training room. If the athletic trainers are not on duty, then transport to Witmer Health Center. If it is after hours you must ring the outside bell and wait for the nurse.

This plan applies to all athletes involved in the official play or practice of an Intercollegiate sport sponsored by Millersville University. Immediate first aid will be rendered by the certified athletic trainer/student athletic trainer/coach at the scene. CPR will be administered by anyone qualified. The ATC/SAT/coach should be certified in 1st Aid and CPR.

Phone Numbers:

  • On Campus: Life-Threatening Medical Emergencies 9-911
  • Other Emergencies 3911 (Campus Police)
  • Health Center 3250
  • University Police 3433

Athletic Training Rooms

  • Brooks 3963
  • Pucillo 3711
  • Stadium 3870

Off Campus

  • Life-Threatening Medical Emergencies 911
  • Lancaster Regional Hospital ER 291-8111
  • Lancaster Regional Hospital Information 291-8211

LIGHTNING SAFETY

Decisions to remove teams or individuals from practice activities will be made by the certified athletic trainers on staff. In absence of a certified athletic trainer individual sport coaches will have to use their best judgment taking into account the guidelines set forth here.

Decisions to remove teams or individuals from athletic competition or events will be made by the certified athletic trainer in conjunction with the athletic director and with the cooperation of the officials.

Guidelines for Lightning Safety:

  1. Know where the closest "safe structure or location" is to the field or playing area, and know how long it takes to get to that safe area. Safe structure or location is defined as:
    • Any building normally occupied or frequently used by people, i.e., a building with plumbing and/or electrical wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure. Avoid using shower facilities for safe shelter and do not use the showers or plumbing during a thunderstorm.
    • In the absence of a sturdy, frequently inhabited building, any vehicle with a hard metal roof (not a convertible or golf cart) and rolled up windows can provide a measure of safety. A vehicle is certainly better than remaining outdoors. It is not the rubber tires that make a vehicle a safe shelter, but the metal roof, which dissipates the lightning strike around the vehicle. DO NOT TOUCH THE SIDES OF THE VEHICLE.
  2. Be aware of how close lightning is occurring. The flash-to-bang method is the easiest. To use this method count the seconds from the time lightning is sighted to when the clap of thunder is heard. Divide this number by five to obtain how far away (in miles) the lightning is occurring.
  3. As a minimum, National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) and the NCAA recommend that by the time the monitor obtain a flash-to-bang count of 30 seconds; all individuals should leave the athletic site and go to a safe structure or location.
  4. If no safe structure or location is within a reasonable distance, find a thick grove of small trees surrounded by taller trees or a dry ditch. Assume a crouched position on the ground with only the balls of the feet touching the ground, wrap your arms around your knees and lower your head. Minimize your body's surface area, and minimize contact with the ground. Do not lie flat.
  5. If unable to reach safe shelter, stay away from the tallest trees or objects (such as light poles or flagpoles), metal objects (such as fences or bleachers), individual trees, standing pools of water and open fields. Avoid being the highest object in a field. Do not take shelter under a single, tall tree.
  6. A person who feels his or her hair stand on end, or skin tingle, should immediately crouch, as described in item 4.
  7. When considering resumption of an athletics activity, NSSL staff recommends that ideally everyone should wait 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning or sound of thunder before returning to the field or activity.
  8. Observe the following basic first aid procedures in managing victims of a lightening strike.
    • Survey the scene for safety.
    • Activate local EMS `Lightening victims do not carry a 'charge' and are safe to touch.
    • If necessary, move the victim with care to a safe location.
    • Evaluate airway, breathing, circulation, and begin CPR if necessary.
    • Evaluate and treat for hypothermia, shock, fractures and/or burns.
  9. All individuals have the right to leave an athletic site in order to seek a safe structure if the person feels in danger of impending lightening activity, without fear of repercussions or penalty from anyone.