Falmouth Hospital important part of road race medical team
The 50th anniversary celebration of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race is Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 and like the seven-mile event which attracts world-class runners, an equally elite medical team will be ready to go the distance.
The seaside race, founded in 1973, starts in Woods Hole and finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights. A full field of 10,000 will include Olympic and world champions.
Falmouth Hospital is a platinum level sponsor and Yawkey Emergency Center director Michael Rest, MD, along with race medical director John Jardine, MD and medical coordinator Chris Troyanos of Sports Medicine Consultants, coordinate care for the runners and thousands of spectators on what typically is a hot summer day.
“Most of the key players have many years of experience,” said Dr. Rest. “Everyone is well-practiced and knows what to do, but still, nothing is taken for granted. We’re always rehashing and reviewing. We want to be ready for anything and everything.”
The doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists and pharmacists are supported by 250 volunteers.
“It’s a team effort, for sure,” said Dr. Rest, who has been part of the race medical staff for 10 years. “It’s absolutely one of the busiest weekends of the year for us in the ER. During the peak hours on race day, midmorning to midafternoon, it can get insanely busy so we’ll have additional staff on hand, an extra physician and extra nurses. And depending on the weather, if it looks like it’s going to be unusually hot and humid, we’ll bring in more help.”
Troyanos, also medical coordinator of the Boston Marathon and other top races, said planning begins about six months before race day and includes all the public safety partners, Falmouth Hospital and Emergency Medical Services and volunteers.
“Falmouth creates unique challenges, starting with what type of weather conditions we will face on race day,” said Troyanos.
Quick Recognition Key for Heat Strokes
The top concern, all the medical professionals agree, is being on alert for heat stress related illness, especially life-threatening heat stroke, which is essentially the body’s inability to cool itself. When a runner’s internal temperature rises to 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, brain damage, organ failure, shock and even death can occur. Timing and rapid recognition is the key and it’s imperative the patient be treated quickly in an immersion ice bath.
The race medical team has been at the forefront of protocols developed for treating heat exertion. Dr. Jardine, an emergency medical physician who began his career in 2000 at Falmouth Hospital, is now at Kent Hospital in Warwick, R.I. He co-authored a research paper, “The Effectiveness of Cold Water Immersion in the Treatment of Exertional Heat Stroke at the Falmouth Road Race.” If attended to on-site, a runner usually will respond and recover in 20 to 30 minutes, he said.
Heat exhaustion and dehydration are other heat-related concerns and often can be treated successfully with fluids, resting and shade from the sun.
Five medical tents on the course, from the start to the finish, all fully staffed with personnel, supplies and radio communications, are strategically located for optimum access and egress. In addition, there are observers all along the route watching for runners who might need assistance.
Most medical situations at the race – over 90 percent, according to Dr. Jardine – are handled on site and the patients are medically cleared and released. “Our ability to handle most situations in the field protects the ER,” he said. “Otherwise, the hospital staff could get overwhelmed on what is already a very busy time of year.”
Collaborative Communication Improves Patient Care
Dr. Rest said some runners (or spectators) are transported to Falmouth Hospital with a variety of issues such as sprains, broken bones or abrasions. There are also some walk-ins to the ER who self-admit after the race.
“It’s summertime on Cape Cod and there are lots more people here – and certainly on race weekend,” said Dr. Rest. “Proportionally we’ll see an increase in the ER in everything, from cardiac issues, seizures, diabetics, you name it.”
There is constant communication between the medical team on site at the race and the staff at the emergency center, he said. Improved technology over the years allows for real-time information to flow from the course to the ER.
“It’s a collaborative effort and there are no surprises,” he said. “If a patient is being sent to us, we know exactly what kind of situation is coming in and what’s been already done in the tent so we can coordinate care.”
After the race, Dr. Jardine typically visits the Falmouth Hospital ER on Sunday afternoon to check on those who have been transported. Follow-ups are also done the next day of everyone who was treated, either in a medical tent on the course or at the hospital. Patients receive discharge instructions, what they were treated for, what symptoms to watch for and how to follow up with their doctors.
