Emergency Protocols for Nevada Football and WCSD Athletics

RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – The significance of sporting doctors and trainers has been underlined by Damar Hamlin’s unexpected collapse on a football field. They discussed their emergency preparations, which the Wolf Pack and the school system have in place.

Football accidents frequently involve concussions, shattered bones, torn muscles, and knee injuries, to name a few.

The American College of Cardiology revealed in 2016 that 100 to 150 sudden cardiac arrests occur during competitive sports each year when looking at sudden cardiac arrests in athletes.

What increases danger for sportsmen, according to Renowned Cardiac Electrophysiologist Matt Cain.

“These things, when rare, can happen to anybody. What we think happened to Damar Hamlin was a phenomenon called, Commotio cordis, which happens mostly in lacrosse, baseball, or other projectile sports where you are struck in the chest at a high velocity. This causes a lethal arrhythmia stimulating the electricity at a very vulnerable moment in the cardiac cycle,” Dr. Cain shared.

We are forced to rely on the expertise of our athletic physicians and trainers since such rarity in high-contact sports. Every year, the REMSA and University of Nevada, Reno sports medical teams meet together to simulate these potential crises.

The head football athletic trainer and associate director of sports medicine is Spencer Hiett. He spoke of their emergency planning.

“We run through scenarios, and we talk with our team physicians about what if this happens what if that happens and get a feel of how we’re supposed to react in these situations so that when unfortunately, something does happen we’re ready,” Hiett said.

For the purpose of sports participation and obtaining a doctor’s physical, all WCSD students are obliged to complete a health questionnaire. Coaches and employees are AED and CPR trained. Programs that raise awareness of concussions are necessary.

Athletics and Activities Coordinator Rollins Stallworth works for Washoe County School District. He said,

“The reality is it’s not if… it’s when. We just don’t ever want not to be prepared for when it happens to us. Immediately after this situation happened on TV, that next day on our campus I sent an email to all of our coaches to all our athletic directors to hey make sure your AEDs are visible, you have them, they’re working, and know where they’re at.”

The event involving Damar Hamlin serves as a reminder of how players’ health is determined off the field.

Hiett continued:

“When you look at everything that goes into clearing out athletes for participation, we do expensive workups. We do a lot more than most universities we do EKG screenings for all of our athletes, and we have them all read by a cardiologist before they are cleared before being allowed to participate in their sport. It doesn’t matter if they’re a football player, track athletes, or golf athletes they all go through the same protocol. So, we’re good at finding those underlying conditions before they become an issue.”

When it comes to these circumstances, WCSD and Nevada are prepared and anticipate the next football season.

“I want our parents and our student-athletes to know that the district is committed to making sure we are providing a safe environment for them, we provide quality coaches who are certified to help in emergencies, and let’s just hope and pray we never have one of these situations here,” Stallworth said.

“We always want players to know that we are here for them. At the end of the day, we’re here to protect them and provide the best healthcare we possibly can,” Hiett said.

Credits: KOLO TV