Wellesley College Injury Procedures
There are several possible scenarios for the emergency plan of action. In each case, the plan may vary according to the situation and availability of qualified personnel.
Normal home practice or contest where a staff AT is available:
The coach should send a student to call/retrieve a staff athletic trainer (if one is not on site). If the coach feels that the situation is immediately life threatening, Campus Police should be called first or concurrently at (781) 283-5555. The certified athletic trainer will initiate the emergency plan if necessary, assisted by an athletic training aide. The coach is responsible for maintaining order with the rest of the team and keeping them away from the injured person. The event manager may also assist as needed. If transportation to the hospital is requested, the certified athletic trainer will send a responsible person to call Campus Police at (781) 283-5555. The caller should articulate to the dispatcher that “The certified athletic trainer on site is requesting an ambulance at (name site).” The certified athletic trainer will manage the scene until EMS arrives to assist.
Procedures for injuries while competing away without a staff AT:
The following steps are to be followed with respect to injuries occurring away from Wellesley College and the team is traveling without a certified athletic trainer. The safety of Wellesley’s athletes is the responsibility of the host institution’s medical staff.
- In the absence of a Wellesley College certified athletic trainer, the team will rely on reciprocal coverage from the host institution’s medical staff or athletic trainer. The host athletic trainer is responsible for decisions regarding return to play.
- If an athlete has been significantly injured, the head athletic trainer should be notified as soon as possible. If the head athletic trainer is not able to be reached, then the assistant athletic trainer should be called so that follow-up arrangements can be made. If an athlete needs further immediate care beyond that given by the host institution’s medical staff, she should be taken to the nearest emergency room (unless the medical staff advises it is safe to return to local hospital). In this case, the head coach is responsible for ensuring that the athlete has transportation home from the emergency room. In a situation where an athlete is transported by ambulance, the head or assistant coach should accompany the athlete (in the absence of a parent). If any equipment is borrowed from the host school, the athletic training staff will be responsible for returning it to the school.
- If emergency room care is needed, make sure that any follow-up instructions, prescriptions or copies of x-rays are obtained prior to leaving the hospital (if it is not a local hospital). Discuss notification of parents with the athlete (unless under 18). If the emergency room physician recommends follow-up with a specialist, we will normally refer athletes to Dr. Joanne Borg-Stein at Newton-Wellesley Hospital (team physician). Follow-up referrals will be made as soon as possible by the athletic training staff.
- If for any reason the athlete is taken to Health Services, she should inform the nurse or physician that she is an athlete and should follow-up with the athletic training staff.
*We do not cover low-risk sports when they are traveling. Coaches are provided with appropriate supplies (medical kit, water bottles, ice, etc.) before leaving and are responsible for ensuring that these items are returned to the athletic training room after the trip (can be left outside the athletic training room if closed). Coaches should make arrangements to pick these up during regular athletic training room hours.
Events covered by a student athletic training aide:
In the absence of a certified athletic trainer, the coach is considered the person responsible for the activity. The student athletic training aide is there to assist the coach in providing necessary first aid and in activating the EMS system if needed. The coach and the athletic training aide should know the location of the nearest accessible phone and medical kit. In the event of an injury, the coach will make a reasonable judgment regarding the severity of the injury. The staff athletic trainers should be notified by phone of the injury.
INJURIES SHOULD FALL INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
- Athlete should be transported to a hospital or emergency care facility (call Campus Police x5555)
- A head injury with any loss of consciousness, vomiting, severe headache, slurred speech, tingling or numbness in both extremities or is unable to communicate. If head injury symptoms worsen within 5 minutes of impact (increased headache, nausea, starts to vomit, blurred vision) the athlete should also be transported.
- Direct blow to the abdomen which results in vomiting, severe pain or signs of shock.
- Any severe bleeding that cannot be controlled in a few minutes with direct compression, elevation and application of ice.
- An injury to an extremity that results in SEVERE loss of function, circulation or sensation. Any obvious fracture or deformity of a major limb.
- An athlete showing signs of distress or shock (rapid, weak pulse, drowsiness, shallow but rapid respirations, cool, clammy and pale skin).
- Athlete should not continue participating until further care is rendered.
- Athlete has experienced a head injury and has any remaining symptoms as described above after 2 minutes.
- Athlete is bleeding. Bleeding must be controlled before returning to play.
- Athlete is unable to ambulate without a limp or has significant pain.
- The athlete or coach does not feel that they can continue safely.
- Athlete can usually return to play
- Injury is to an extremity and the athlete is fully functional (can run, sprint, cut, hop on affected limb).
- Bleeding has been controlled and wound appropriately dressed.
- *Keep watching for signs of favoring the injured area or indications that the injury is worse than expected. When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and safety! If there is any question, call for assistance.
Practice conducted by the coach without the presence of any athletic training support staff (either a staff AT or student athletic training aide)
In this case, the coach is the person responsible for activating the emergency plan. All coaches should be certified in first aid and CPR. The coach will assess the situation and initiate the emergency plan as described above by sending someone to call Campus Police (x5555) from the nearest phone.
Captain’s practices
Captain’s practices are considered optional and voluntary activities involving team members but without supervision of an athletic department staff member. If an injury occurs and the staff athletic trainers are not available, the normal Keohane Sports Center/Wellesley College emergency plan will be used. Any person (team mate, weight room, student) who sees the incident should notify the front desk of the KSC who will contact campus police. If the incident occurs on an athletic field, Campus Police may be called from one of the emergency phones in the area.
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