Ga. - A sports medicine emergency plan developed at the University of Georgia has been adopted by the NCAA for a national handbook. The plan was written by Ron Courson, Georgia's director of sports medicine, and reviewed by all members of the Georgia sports medicine staff. The plan is designed to establish the steps that must be taken in the event of an emergency at an athletic competition or practice. The NCAA has added the plan to its Sports Medicine Handbook and its web site to give member institutions a starting point for plans of their own. This plan puts everyone on the same page as far as what to do.
Preparation makes a huge difference.
If it's an ankle sprain, a couple of minutes may not make a significant difference. But those couple of minutes following a cardiac arrest or an obstructed airway may mean the difference between life and death. Courson speaks from experience. Five years ago, he and athletic trainers from all 12 SEC schools were in Birmingham, Ala., giving physical conditioning tests to conference football officiating crews. One of the officials had just completed a running exercise when he collapsed in cardiac arrest.