SAFE MEETINGS Good to Know In Case of Emergency Are you and your team prepared for a medical crisis? by Connie Jeske Crane Your event is unfolding nicely and then out of nowhere—a crisis. Perhaps an attendee collapses during the keynote, food poisoning strikes the C-suite or a partying delegate falls overboard during a dinner cruise. Is your team ready? Does everyone know their roles in the case of a sudden medical emergency? We talked to Kevin Jones, executive director of event operations for Odyssey Medical Inc. in Barrie, ON, about how to create a robust event medical emergency action plan: 1. ASSESS THE RISKS Before your event, Jones advises doing a detailed risk assessment to inform your emergency planning. “If I was an event organizer, I’d be considering the environment and then the audience profile. Who’s coming to our event? Where are they coming from? What do they look like demographically?” Among environmental factors, Jones advises looking at location (indoor or outdoor venue?). Key demographic data includes participants’ age, occupation, allergies, whether they’re travelling internationally, medical requirements. Also consider event nitty gritty (Will alcohol be served? Are offsite activities and ground transportation involved, etc.?). And review historic data, says Jones. “What have they typically been prone to or known for?” 2. CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS/PARTNERS Venues: Jones says, “The venue has a legal requirement, they have a building, the bricks and mortar and you’ve paid a fee in your contracting phase.” Confirm details with the venue regarding first aid kits, staff training, first aid attendants, defibrillators and insurance, as well as local pharmacies, emergency and urgent care locations. Clients: Discuss policies and procedures and coverage—what medical coverage is in place for national and international travellers? Look at corporate riders, says Jones, noting VIPs might have their own security protocols or “riders that require certain things to be present. They might have a requirement saying, ‘You must have two on-duty paramedics at the venue at all times.’” 3. DEVELOP EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS When building your actual emergency plan, Jones says it starts with identification. “How do we identify there’s an emergency? And how does somebody raise the flag… whether that’s going to a security guard, there needs to be a protocol.” Next, it’s planning access and response. “How am I going to get the patient from the crowd to care? Or how do I bring care to the patient?” 4. COMMUNICATE WITH ATTENDEES In their conference package, event organizers must, says Jones, “put some information about healthcare. ‘Hey, you’re staying at the Marriott, this is the closest urgent care clinic. If you need a pharmacy, here’s where it is.’” And highlight emergency numbers too, he says. 5. CONSIDER THE AFTER-EFFECTS Attendees who’ve witnessed a medical emergency may be impacted too, says Jones, “because this is a good friend, a colleague, your boss.” Detail debriefing resources available via programs such as employee assistance plans. “They really do need to do a decompression. They need to talk it through.” Winter 2024 | Ignitemag.ca | 13
