Adaptive Sports Event Planning

Abstract

Medical support for an adaptive sporting event requires coordinated preplanning with consideration of a variety of factors that will dictate the delivery of health care. The venue, time of year, type of events, and amount of coverage are some of the major questions that must be asked. Site visits and rehearsals are required to synchronize the effort. Coordination with the local medical and law enforcement should be incorporated into the planning. Dissemination and rehearsal of the communication plan and medical protocols will ensure their success during the actual event. Required personnel and medical logistics are dictated both by the amount and level of support planned but also by historic norms. Injury surveillance and record keeping are paramount to establish those norms and to base further decisions. Liability coverage may come from a combination of race organizer’s insurance, private malpractice insurance, or the Volunteer Protection Act. An after-action report should be completed soon after the event to help sustain those efforts that were successful and to discover areas of improvement.