Medical providers ready for Olympic health woes

July 16, 1996
Web posted at: 11:40 p.m. EDT

From Correspondent Andrew Holtz

ATLANTA (CNN) -- As the population of Atlanta swells with Olympic visitors and athletes, the demand for medical care is also on the increase.

That's why the organizers of the Olympic Games in Atlanta have a medical plan that includes thousands of doctors, nurses, paramedics, volunteers and others.

Olympic venues will be staffed around the clock by medical personnel and volunteers. One of the largest visitor attractions, the Centennial Olympic Park, will be staffed morning, noon and night by some 400 people, mostly volunteers.

"We take care of everything from the...heat-exhaustion patients, which we are seeing quite a few of, to the most severe cardiac and trauma patients," says Dr. Mark Perni, a trauma surgeon.

The volunteers, called "first responders," have had at least 40 hours of training and will be on the front lines, ready to assist patients.

"We have had an episode of chest pains, [and] yesterday, fainting. Part of it's been heat-related; part of it hasn't been," says Lynn Page of the American Red Cross.

Medical planners also have prepared for the unthinkable, studying the Oklahoma City bombing and holding disaster drills to train emergency crews.

"It takes tremendous teamwork, but we have rehearsed in test events," says Dr. John Cantwell of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. "We have tried to select people who are team players, and they will be up to the task."

Not everyone convinced

However, not everyone agrees that the plan is good enough.

Private ambulance operators say Olympic organizers have been slow to take their advice. For instance, just three ambulances are to be stationed at Centennial Park, compared with 13 ambulances used at a recent Atlanta music festival.

But officials promise that special access lanes will allow ambulances to cut through gridlocked traffic.

"I think it'll be a challenge for all the providers to accommodate the level of demand that we may see, and a lot of that demand is not known yet," says Michael Baird of Atlanta South Ambulance.

Local ambulance companies are donating hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of services and equipment, even though some operators say they felt pressured to make donations in order to maintain long-term business ties.

Yet despite some grumbling, they say differences with Olympic organizers are being worked out.

"ACOG sees that adjustments need to be made in some areas, and when we see the need, change is being made right then and there," says Baird.

Whatever the problem, the medical staff, volunteers, ambulance services and emergency crews of the Olympic Games are ready to respond to everything and anything -- from a major medical crisis to a minor scrape.

Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.