Community Connection: Training for Sports Injuries

McKenzie Health Hosted Inter-agency Sports Medicine Emergency Event

by Robyn Gust, Sports Medicine Director

Saturday, July 12th, McKenzie Health hosted an interagency Sports Medicine Emergency education event designed to help improve communication and emergency preparation for McKenzie Health Sports Medicine staff and surrounding emergency medical response groups. The event was held at Watford City’s beautiful Rough Rider Center.

The organization Sports Medicine Emergency Management (SMEM) presented. SMEM is a company that travels around the country working with colleges, professional teams (including the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA) and emergency response organization. The mission of the organization is to be a resource for sports medicine emergency preparation and training, transforming emergency responses through interdisciplinary collaboration, competency-based skills training, and practical scenario-based rehearsals.  They strive to help sports medicine and emergency response professionals feel fully prepared and unwavering in the face of adversity, equipped with skills that prioritize outcomes and save lives.

Attendees of the event were local Quick Response Units, McKenzie County Ambulance staff as well as the Certified Athletic Trainers that will be working with the schools and sporting events in the McKenzie County area. 

McKenzie County Sports Medicine Director, Robyn Gust, was very pleased with the event and stated that the information, discussions and collaborative practice sessions will have a very positive impact on how well the athletic trainer on site and the EMS responding to an emergent injury will be able to care for the patient.

“I thought this was a very valuable education session for our sports medicine team and local EMS to be at together. We all definitely took away great information on how we can be better prepared for an emergency and respond cohesively together.”

The Friday prior to the interagency Sports Medicine event, SMEM spent time with the McKenzie Health Emergency Department staff. They focused on how to provide emergent care, such as CPR, with football and hockey equipment on as well as how to remove it without compromising the patient’s injuries.

This event was the first education session the McKenzie Health Sports Medicine Department has hosted. The department is one of McKenzie Health’s newest lines of service developed to provide comprehensive medical care to the physically active and sports population in McKenzie County and the surrounding area.