Emergency Preparedness and Assessment: Be Ready for Anything

Emergency Preparedness and Assessment

Be Ready for Anything

Emergency Preparedness

• Observational Skills: Look, Listen, Touch, Smell

• Emergency Action Plan (EAP): Written plan of procedures and roles

• EAP Considerations: Prevent emergencies, designate responsibilities

• Communicating with EMS: Provide injury details, location, meeting point

• Know the Athlete: Past injuries, medical conditions, pain tolerance

• Implementing Emergency Procedures: Stay calm, take charge, seek skilled help

Multiple Select

What are some considerations for implementing emergency procedures?

• Observational Skills

• Prevent emergencies, and designating responsibilites

• Communicating with EMS

• Know the Athlete

EAP Considerations

Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) are crucial for implementing emergency procedures. They outline the steps to be taken in case of an emergency, including communication with EMS, knowing the athlete, and utilizing observational skills. EAPs ensure a quick and effective response to emergencies, prioritizing the safety and well-being of everyone involved.

Emergency Preparedness

• Universal Precautions: Use gloves when dealing with blood or body fluids.

• The Primary Survey: Assess for life-threatening emergencies, focusing on airway, breathing, severe bleeding, and shock.

• Circulation: Check Pulse. Establish if a patient is breathing or not. Check for responsiveness. If a patient is not breathing or gasping for air, perform CPR. Compression ratio of 30:2 and depth of 2 inches at the rate of 100 compression per minute.

• Always treat an unconscious patient as if they have a spine injury.

​Universal Precautions

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of wearing gloves when dealing with blood or body fluids?

• To establish an open airway

• To remove foreign objects from the patient's airway

• To check for breathing and circulation

• To protect against potential infection

Protect Against Infection

Gloves are worn to protect against potential infection when dealing with blood or body fluids. They act as a barrier between the healthcare worker and the patient's bodily fluids, reducing the risk of transmission of pathogens. It is an essential precautionary measure in healthcare settings to ensure the safety of both patients and healthcare providers.

Emergency Airway Management

• Use head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver to clear the airway

• Do not remove the football helmet if a neck injury is suspected

• In an emergency, remove the face mask to access the airway

• If a patient is not breathing, call for help and get an AED

• Cut back uniform and shoulder pads, start compressions, and follow with rescue breaths.

• When the Patient's Airway is Not Clear: Wear gloves, open the jaw, and use a finger sweep to remove foreign objects.

Tools needed to remove a helmet

Multiple Choice

What should you do in an emergency if a patient with a suspected neck injury is not breathing?

• Use head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver

• Remove football helmet

• Remove face mask to access airway

• Call for help and get an AED

Life-Saving Trivia

Trivia: In a medical emergency, if a patient is not breathing, the most important action is to call for help and get an AED. Other actions, such as using the head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver or removing a football helmet, should only be done if there is no suspected neck injury. Remember, time is crucial in saving lives!

Emergency Assessment

• Movement of the Athlete: Provide emergency first aid. If head or spinal cord injury suspected, maintain position. If spine-injured patient not breathing, stabilize spine, perform log-roll, and start CPR. If no head or neck injury, assist athlete to sitting position. Reevaluate for dizziness. Bring patient to standing position and recheck. If signs/symptoms change, help patient lie down and call EMS.

• Assessment Continues: If athlete is stable while standing, move to bench for further assessment. If signs/symptoms change, help patient lie down and call EMS.

Secondary Assessment

• HOPS: History, Observation, Palpation, and Special Tests.

• Observation: Check for swelling, deformity, bleeding, etc.

• Palpate for pain, deformities, pulses, breaks in the skin, and temperature changes.

• Special tests: Assess active and passive range of motion.

​Secondary Assessment

1. Wash hands.

2. Wear gloves if blood or bodily fluids are present.

3. Explain the procedure.

4. Beginning at the neck, handle the patient gently. Only move the patient once you have determined no spinal injury.

5. Look for bleeding, swelling, or deformities.

6. Determine the mechanism of injury.

7. Obtain a history from the patient.

8. Check for nausea or vomiting. If vomiting is present, what color and how much?

9. Does the patient have any pain in the neck? If so, assume spinal injury.

​Secondary Assessment

​10. Palpate the back of the neck for any deformity or tenderness.

11. Check the neck for a medic-alert tag.

12. Gently palpate the entire scalp with both hands.

13. Feel for swelling by touching lightly all around the back of the head and look at the face for injuries.

14. Check the ears for any drainage.

​Secondary Assessment

​15. Take the penlight from the side of the patient's face, shine directly into one eye, and watch for a reaction. When done, repeat this procedure with the other eye.

16. When inspecting the head and face, check the skin. Is the skin warm, and dry, hot cold and clammy, ashen, or pale?

17. What is the color of the skin? It is red, pale, or cyanotic? Check the nail beds or the inside bottom lip on patients with darker skin to determine skin color.

​Secondary Assessment

​18. Feel the clavicles and ribs for tenderness, pain, or instability.

19. Check the strength of hand grips. They are equal.

20. Palpate the abdomen in all four quadrants for any tenderness, guarding (lying on the side with knees flexed), pain, or rigidity.

21. Start at the right upper quadrant and carefully palpate the abdomen clockwise.

22. Check to see if the patient appears to be in pain.

​Secondary Assessment

​23. Look at the lower extremities and pelvis. Are there any deformities?

24. Evaluate one leg at a time. Start with the upper thigh and palpate for any tenderness, swelling, or pain. Continue down the leg and feel the knee, lower leg, and foot. What is the skin temperature? Is the skin wet or dry?

25. Check for sensation in both legs by brushing your fingers over them.

​Secondary Assessment

​26. Check for movement in both legs and ankles. Without causing the athlete unnecessary pain, carefully check each leg's range of motion (ROM). First, have the patient demonstrate pain free ROM without assistance (AROM). (Have the patient move the extremity in a manner that does not hurt.). Next, have the athlete move the extremity in the same direction against resistance by pushing against your hand. Finally, have the athlete demonstrate the ROM against resistance in the direction that causes pain, being careful not to cause further injury.

​Secondary Assessment

​27. Depending on the patient's condition, you may need to log roll the patient to see the back. Look for bruises, scars, or wounds on the back.

28. Palpate the thoracic, lumbar and sacral areas for pain and tenderness.
29. Check blood pressure
30. Have the patient sit on his or her own if possible; have the patient stand on his or her own if possible; then, if they can, with assistance help them to the sidelines for a further evaluation, or if needed, EMS.

​Secondary Assessment

​31. Remove and dispose of your gloves if it is necessary to put them on.

32. Wash your hands.

33. Record your findings on the patient's chart.

Multiple Choice

What should be done if signs/symptoms change while the athlete is standing?

• Assist the athlete to a sitting position

• Help the patient lie down and call EMS

• Move the athlete to a bench for further assessment

• Perform a log-roll and start CPR

Signs/Symptoms Change

Trivia: Did you know that if an athlete's signs/symptoms change while standing, it is important to help the patient lie down and call EMS. This is because it could be a sign of a serious medical condition that requires immediate medical attention. Remember, safety should always be the top priority when dealing with athletes' health.