Spinoff: Does your hunt have an emergency plan?

[MissMilly]

The post on first responder training got me thinking about our hunt’s lack of preparedness in the event of an emergency. From a bad fall to allergic reaction, I think we may be woefully under-prepared. Would you share your hunt’s emergency plan, if any?

Do you collect specific information from hunt members about contact, medical or other info? Has there been any push back from members in regards to collecting emergency contact info?

All we have is the roster, which has most people’s spouses names and a home phone number. I’d be hard pressed to come up with additional contacts for some of our members, and I’m the secretary! Also, I’ve always thought it would be good to have some info for the horse as well, such as vet name/#, barn worker contact info etc. Is this overkill?

Do any hunts assign someone to carry a kit with aspirin, epi pen etc? I know our members are quite sensitive to invasions of privacy, or over protection, but it just seems like there may be some simple and unobtrusive things we could be doing that could easily be lifesaving. Looking forward to hearing other’s thoughts!

[SLW]

The solution might be to have each member be responsible for carrying a laminated card with all pertinent information in a hunt coat pocket. As a fail safe the hunt could have one on file however, for medical information to be helpful it needs to be with the person. Having it collected and held in safe keeping by Masters at the clubhouse (or elsewhere) is useless at the time of an emergency.

[ex-racer_owner]

Uh, eventers have been strapping their info to themselves for ages now. They even make neat “bracelets” that store your info, but the hunt would need to have a bar code reader for them.

[Kodiak]

Our hunt encourages the use of eventing arm bands or roadID, containing all your pertinent medical info. Members who may need special care or meds, including epi pen, are encouraged to carry them and make staff or a riding buddy aware in case they need help. Staff were given laminated cards on a saddle ring with the addresses of key locations at each fixture (necessary if calling 911). We’re also encouraged to put emergency instructions for our horses in our trailers and to leave the keys where they can be easily found. Basically, think of what you’d want to have available if you were carried off to the hospital unconscious.

Beyond that, we actually did lay out a very brief set of guidelines. Specifically:
-Most people should carry on (clear the area of horses and bystanders, gather up the hounds, etc)
-For what seem to be non-injury falls, the dismounted should wait with a buddy for a few minutes to make sure adrenaline hasn’t masked an injury. Then either find and rejoin the field or retire, depending.

For injury falls/serious incidents:
-Nearest “responsible person” (individuals from each field have volunteered) takes charge, coordinates, and assigns tasks, including using the radio to summon first responders/get volunteers tending the injured, direct calling 911, send the field/horses away, etc. The standard first responder drill.
-Emphasis on everyone not creating more hazards by rushing about. Responders ride at a reasonable speed with an escort and a pair of riders should meet and guide the ambulance.
-Usual first responder stuff when dealing with the injured, including keeping him or her calm, warm, and informed of what is going on. No food or drink, don’t take off the helmet, etc.

Really basic stuff, but K.I.S.S. seems to work best in emergencies. Just walking through “what to do” and thinking about it helped a lot, I think.

Good things to have on hand (in the hound truck?), beyond addresses of fixtures, include the member directory (which should include an ICE number), phone numbers of local vets, and some good maps or aerial photos of the fixtures.

[2foals]

My kids and I wear soft rubber bracelets that have important phone numbers and basic medical history/allergies. I think a laminated card in the pocket is a great idea also, especially for someone with a complicated medical history or numerous medications or allergies. Having emergency info and numbers back at an office or clubhouse wouldn’t really be very helpful in an emergency situation. I’m not a fan of the bracelets with the bar codes, not everyone knows how to get the info from those.

I also carry an epi-pen and an inhaler depending on which of my sons is riding with me. I think that having someone carry a kit with medicine is tricky–you’ve got to then be responsible not to forget the kit, and also to make sure that the medication is stored properly and isn’t out of date, and also have the knowledge to use the medication appropriately.

I agree with others that the main thing everyone needs to be doing is calling for help and facilitating getting medical responders (ambulance/helicopter) on the scene. Along with also staying calm and stepping back to allow those with medical training to help the injured person. I think it is a great idea to encourage people involved in horse sports to learn first aid and BLS, I’m not sure what the best way for a hunt to do that would be.

[poltroon]

I don’t hunt, but I do go off riding at various places and so I have obvious contact information posted in my trailer.

Once upon a time, a friend of mine was critically injured tacking up for a lesson. She lived alone and we scrambled desperately to find contact information for her son (who had recently moved out) and to figure out how to feed her cat (we did not think to confiscate her keys before the paramedics came). It was a question of life and death and it took hours to find her son’s information via multiple strange remembered contacts.

Information filed away tends to be out of date, so having it in multiple places with at least one that is regularly seen and alterable by the member is probably wise.

[CindyCRNA]

We also need to consider a fall where a concussion or loss of consciousness is involved. Do you know how to assess if the person is breathing or are their respiratory efforts being thwarted by position (laying on their stomach, chin to their chest)? Can you tell the difference between respiratory effort and actually moving air? The problem with the hunt field is you are remote and your fellow hunters are going to be your primary first responders until paramedics can get to you. It’s an active sport and many members are older, myself included.

[otterhound]

We have 2 doctors, 2 ED nurses, and a paramedic who hunt with us - so a fall out hunting is probably the safest fall you can have! One of the ED nurses always has a first aid kit with her on the hunt field, and our hunt/hound truck has a back-board and neck braces included in the bigger first aid kit. The Master always carries a GPS (mainly just to track how far we’ve gone on any given day) but it can be used to direct a helicopter to the nearest suitable spot to land. Nobody really carries any personal info though - it seems that someone will know someone enough to get a message through to relevant parties.

[VelvetsAB]

Since I am just a supporting member of my local hunt, there have been times where I have only made an appearance once a year due to other commitments. For that reason, it might be a lot harder for a regular hunt member to know who to call in case of emergency. It is listed in my cell phone…but I don’t always carry it when I do make it out to a hunt.

Having information in an emergency binder that is updated every 6 months or once a year could be beneficial, along with having hunt staff having basic first aid certificates.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=VelvetsAB;7943700]
Since I am just a supporting member of my local hunt, there have been times where I have only made an appearance once a year due to other commitments. For that reason, it might be a lot harder for a regular hunt member to know who to call in case of emergency. It is listed in my cell phone…but I don’t always carry it when I do make it out to a hunt.

Having information in an emergency binder that is updated every 6 months or once a year could be beneficial, along with having hunt staff having basic first aid certificates.[/QUOTE]

The day of the accident at my hunt the injured member WAS carrying his cell phone but it was password protected making it impossible to access contact info. The family was contacted via other sources without it impacting transport or treatment.

A well secured from roving eyes Master List of personal contacts, members carrying a small card on their person or the eventer band would all make sense for peace of mind.

The other issue is “where are the keys to the rig?” Not a big deal for people who haul in pairs to a hunt but for people hauling in single it would be good if someone knew where the rig keys were in the event the rig needed to be moved or to get it (and the horse) back home. Just anything to make things easier for the family who will be focused on the injured family member is ideal.