ATHENS, Ga. --- Three
months ago, Ron Courson, the University of Georgia Athletic Association's Assistant Athletic
Director for Sports Medicine, agreed to give a speech on sudden cardiac arrest
at the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's conference this
weekend in Charlotte, N.C. SOURCE: Georgiadogs.com
Little
did Courson know, his procedures would be enacted less than 72 hours prior to
his presentation.
Thursday
afternoon, Courson and the UGA Sports Medicine staff were pressed into action
when Al Schmidt, the director of track and field for Mississippi State,
collapsed during the first day of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and
Field Championships at the Spec Towns Track.
"He
was on the infield and sustained a cardiac arrest," Courson said.
"The response from our track and field medical staff was outstanding.
David Chandler, our track and field athletic trainer, was immediately there and
recognized sudden cardiac arrest. He and Dr. Don Lazas, the father of an
Arkansas decathlete, quickly started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We
were fortunate Dr. Lazas was there and are extremely thankful for his
assistance. We were able to use the automated external defibrillator (AED) we
had on site and successfully resuscitate him. The key to an emergency plan is
preparation. We rehearse our emergency action plan regularly each year with all
of our athletic trainers, physicians and paramedics. In this situation,
we had tremendous teamwork from everyone. Our athletic training staff, student
athletic trainers, the paramedics, the campus police, event management, the
physical plant staff, the hospital staff – everyone worked together. We
communicated from the track with the hospital and our team physicians so the
hospital was prepared for our arrival. We contacted Mississippi State and
they were able to quickly provide his medical records to the hospital which
were greatly helpful. The emergency plan worked well because we had practiced
and rehearsed it and thankfully we had a good outcome."
"I
can guarantee that response went above and beyond," said Georgia track and
field head coach Wayne Norton. "Not only were they quick, but they knew
what to do."
Schmidt
was transported to Athens Regional Medical Center where his condition is
stable.
"The
hospital did a tremendous job," Courson said. "They reached out to
the Mississippi State family and provided them with a private waiting room.
They also made available an on-campus residence for his wife when she arrived,
which we knew would be in the middle of the night."
While
Courson prides himself on emergency preparedness, even he finds the timing of
Thursday's incident occuring so close to his presentation ironic.
"It's
ironic in a lot of ways," Courson said. "Four of our athletic
training students and one of our graduate athletic trainers were here working
the meet and all of them had just finished last week an emergency care class
that I teach. One thing that we talk about in that class is that you never know
when an emergency will happen. It can happen at any time. Sometimes you think
about emergencies happening in high-collision sports like football or hockey or
lacrosse but an emergency can truly happen at any time.
"This
lecture came about four years ago when the National Athletic Trainers'
Association (NATA) developed a position statement on cardiac arrest,"
Courson continued. "We wrote an inter association consensus statement
where we brought together athletic trainers, physicians, emergency medical
technicians and other healthcare providers to develop standardized procedures
for recognition and management of sudden cardiac arrest. Once a year, the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association asks us to present on hot
topics in sports medicine. This year, we will lead discussions on sudden
cardiac arrest and concussions in sport. Cardiac arrest has been in the news
recently with the unfortunate and highly publicized death of the high school
basketball player in Michigan. It is the leading cause of death in athletes.
At this conference, the top sportscasters and sportswriters from all 50 states
will be there and we'll have a presentation and a forum where they can ask
questions. Hopefully, we'll help raise the public awareness."
Courson
already has experienced positive feedback from Thursday's efforts.
"It
was an example of when bad things happen, good things can come out of it,"
Courson said. "Having everyone and everything in the right place at the
right time helped save a life. I've already had a call from someone with the
Athens Little League today asking how we can help them make sure they have
defibrillators on site as well as develop an emergency action plan."
Courson
also aims to broaden the Athletic Association's preparation for emergency
response to include student-athletes.
"We
set a goal earlier this year to have our student athletes become CPR
certified," Courson said. "That's something we've been doing with our
coaches and strength and conditioning staff for years. We are currently
training all of our sports medicine staff members as CPR instructors. Starting next
year, we plan on having every one of our student-athletes in every sport go
through CPR training. You never know when something is going to happen to a
family member or a friend. The worst feeling in the world is not being able to
do something to help when an emergency arises. Emergencies can happen at any
time, not just at sporting events. We hope our student-athletes never have to
perform CPR but we believe strongly that it's something they should be trained
to do."