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6 Recommendations For Post-Injury Emergency Action Plans

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Player’s Health is an interactive mobile platform designed to allow coaches to quickly and easily document any injury that occurs during practice or games.

Serious injuries are an unfortunate and inevitable part of youth sports – it’s simply impossible to prevent all catastrophic injuries from happening, but being prepared to take action swiftly and effectively when such a situation does arise can help contain and mitigate the damage to athletes, coaches and parents alike – this is where Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) come into play.

EAPs are concrete, written plans that outline what should be done in the event of a catastrophic injury. EAPs should be venue specific, developed in collaboration Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and other school or league administrators, and should include information on what should take place after the incident has occurred.

Below are 6 recommendations for sports organizations to consider in their creation and implementation of EAPs:

1) EAPs should be distributed, reviewed, rehearsed and updated by all staff members, trainers, coaches and other pertinent medical personnel on an annual basis.

2) EAPs should provide documented recommendations for appropriate response actions that should be taken after a catastrophic incident.

3) EAPs should specify roles and document the corresponding responsibilities for all staff members, coaches and medical personnel within a designated chain of command.

4) EAPs should identify the location of on-site emergency equipment (Automated External Defibrillators, CPR masks, etc.).

5) EAPs should list contact information for EMS and other critical medical personnel, as well as the facility address and location.

6) EAPs should contain information for healthcare professionals who will be responsible for providing medical coverage in the event of a catastrophic injury.

To download these recommendations, please click below.

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