it has happened before and we do not
want it to happen again local athletes
collapsing on the field or in the gym
from heat exhaustion or anything else
associated with their health that's why
there are five questions every parent
needs to ask before you allow your child
to play and with some our conditioning
getting ready to start spring sports
have already of course are in high gear
these are important questions you need
to ask joining me this morning is Bob
Steph check he is executive director of
the sports medicine program about good
morning to you thanks for being here I
know we've got a lot to discuss so let's
get right to it so there's five specific
questions and you know what you know
we're doing this now but this is
questions that parents should be asking
that year-round regardless of whether or
not their child's going to be playing
this summer or even in the fall
first what training do the coaches have
when it comes to first aid and CPR and I
think it's interesting too because we
make assumptions as parents that our
coaches know exactly what to do if
there's a medical emergency and we
should make that assumption yeah that's
true there's so many things that go on
behind the scenes in sports and sports
safety is is certainly something we
really need to be conscientious of our
coaches in Duval County Public Schools
are required to have CPR and First Aid
education but that doesn't that isn't
necessarily true throughout some of the
youth sports leagues so making sure that
there is some kind of formalized
training for the coaches especially with
with first aid and CPR and and having an
emphasis on some of the sports safety
issues like emergency action planning
and and what to do yeah in the event
that there is an emergency out on the
field and unfortunately we have scene
where there's a gap and there is not a
plan and there's a gap in time and
terrible tragic things can happen to
children just after two or three minutes
if they've collapsed and no one knows
what to do which brings us to the
importance of having a EE DS on campuses
and and the second question here is one
is there an AED and is it close enough
where somebody can get to it fast enough
to get it back to that student for it to
do some good right actually with the
meeting with the F HSA the Florida High
School Athletic Association we are
actually pushing for a recommendation
that an AED is available within one to
three minutes of any athletic venue our
schools have the
Eadie's but a big question is asking the
coach where is the AED making sure that
they're aware where that AED is and and
certainly that they're trained to use
that and that whomever knows where it is
is always present then during the sports
so that they are there in an emergency
and oftentimes as we see at the end of
day a lot of these rooms are locked so
ask the question okay you've got the AED
it's in the weight room as an example is
the weight room unlocked during the
basketball game it's really important
question it needs to be in an accessible
location this is something we have
talked about for many many months
actually certified athletic trainers
Sports Medicine Program Jacksonville
Sports Medicine Program has been
instrumental in making sure that as many
of our schools as possible based on
available funding have these certified
athletic trainers how do they make a
difference
well absolutely they're licensed
healthcare providers and most people
really don't completely understand that
a licensed healthcare provider they're
providing the leadership for sports
safety out on our athletic fields
especially within our schools they're
only one person though
so that leadership is important because
that helps those coaches understand what
accountability is that they have
individually as coaches for sport safety
out there and and it comes down to that
emergency action planning that being
prepared for that emergency or that
injury situation when licensed
healthcare provider is not available so
having at least one dedicated person at
our schools is really making a
difference we're treating so many
injuries throughout the year and really
bringing to light the the concern of
sports safety knowing how to recognize
when a student may be having you know
maybe overheated as an example making
sure that the kids are drinking plenty
of water also and you've brought this in
measuring what the heat index is and
correct me if I'm wrong based on what
you have here to know if it's conditions
are really ripe for a student collapsing
from heat exhaustion yeah although today
isn't a great example chilly out there
but we do expect some some warm weather
coming up we're about two weeks out from
what we call our spring football season
and our temperature is going to get
rather hot so having a wet-bulb globe
through
what we practice now in the Dougal
County public school is available for
our athletic trainers to measure the
heat stress that that could be affecting
some of our student athletes out there
following an acclimatization program so
that the athletes get acclimated to the
hot temperatures but having the
objective data available from the
wet-bulb globe to share with the coach
and and consider if any modifications
are necessary for their practices and
having that certified athletic trainer
their is so important too because
sometimes if that best player on the
field gets injured for whatever reason
the coach while meaning the best may not
necessarily observe anything that and
may not want to necessarily take that
child out so keep that in mind you have
an independent person on the sideline
making that decision fifth question what
should a parent expect if a thunderstorm
occurs during a practice or workout that
should be a question that you're asking
because we know that lightning can kill
and you know a lot of this information
is going to be shared during a symposium
that's actually coming up this weekend
and you're encouraging who specifically
to attend that on Friday and Saturday
we're open to all of our certified
athletic trainers in our region and our
community to attend that our team
physicians those physicians that
volunteer out on our sidelines we really
want them there but we're certainly open
to having parents and and even student
athletes attend this important symposium
that is going to have a lot of
information available on sports related
injury so it's Friday and it's Saturday
is there a fee to sign up what do they
need to do for our medical professionals
this is a professional development
program so yes they'll need to contact
us through our website J SMP US and for
the public for the general public we are
offering it free of charge so they're
more than welcome to attempt great
information also because there's gonna
be you know information about the
dangers of prescription drugs you're
gonna have testimonials from families
who have lost a student athlete to heat
exhaustion had a student athlete get
very very ill because of concussion he
actually ended up having to quit the
game altogether and still even a year
later is having terrible effects of it
so important information for you anybody
at home who wants to learn more Bob
thank you for being here really
appreciate it
something else want to just make sure
that every
he's aware of two parents in particular
the Jacksonville Sports Medicine
programs also hosting through the Duval
County Public Schools a concussion
presentation at Englewood High School
that's next Monday it starts at six
there's another one on Thursday April 26
there will be a heat and hydration
presentation at Westside high that also
begins at six