University Park, Pa. -- Since its move to its present location in 1960, Beaver Stadium on Penn State's University Park campus has undergone many upgrades, expansions and renovations. However, one thing that stayed the same over the years was the first-aid station under the west stands -- until now, that is.
Over the past off-season, the University built a brand-new, 3,000-square-foot medical facility on the ground level under the east stands at Beaver Stadium. The new facility features much more space and the ability to provide more privacy for patients. A reception and waiting area, nurses' station, patient bays, ADA accessibility and restrooms are among the features of the new facility.
"We realized we needed more space. We needed better access for our patients," said Dave Jones, Penn State EMS manager. "We needed more to be able to do what we needed to do, treatment-wise, for our patients. Minor injuries, breathing problems, dehydration, heat, nausea, vomiting, anything like that, we'll see here. A lot of those patients get released and they go back to the game or we'll advise them to go home or follow up at the hospital."
The move to the East side of the stadium was made for logistical reasons. When the wall was built around the stadium as part of the last expansion, it created a new pedestrian circulation pattern around the outside of the stadium. "Well, for us to get in and out of there was nearly impossible. And it was nearly impossible before we built the wall, let's be truthful about it. But it just became worse," said Jones. "We would have to try to drive an ambulance to the gate to load a patient, back up – and when you're trying to back up and people are trying to get in the gate ... it just got to be very, very dangerous."
The move to the east side enabled them to establish an area that generally is clear of pedestrian traffic. "Plus, we're very, very close to the intersection so we don't have to fight to get to the road. We can get out of here and get to the hospital a little quicker and we can get back more quickly," Jones said.
The facility is well-staffed for games. According to Jones, roughly 85-90 employees work the games, including four doctors from Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Other staff include nurses, paramedics, EMTs and a few nonclinical staff. "It's a real tight-knit group working here, they work really well together. Most of them are here every game. We have people from all over Pennsylvania come in here. They're coming in here from Scranton, from Erie, from Pittsburgh, Philly, Harrisburg, and they come every week. It's a real good group," he said.
While they expect to do a lot of treatment there, the facility is not meant to replace the emergency room. "It's meant to handle emergencies that would occur in the stadium, and at least try to stabilize the patient for transport," Jones said.
The University has five contracted ambulance services available to transport patients: Bellefonte EMS, Mount Nittany Medical Center, Pleasant Gap Fire Co., Moshannon Valley EMS and Centre Lifelink all send ambulances to the stadium on gameday. "We have three ALS (advanced life support) units, with paramedics on board and advanced life-support equipment. So we determine what the nature of the transport needs to be and then the patient is sent out with the appropriate level of care."
Another first for the facility is a treatment room with a door. "This is the first time we have ever had a treatment room with a door on it that we can close if we need to," Jones said. The room will be used for more sensitive treatment, and also if the need arises to convey bad news to someone attending the game. "We'll get phone calls here from a hospital that would say, 'We need to reach so-and-so at the stadium.' We get the person's name, where they're from, and we announce it overhead and get them to come down here. Usually it's because somebody's at the hospital either very ill or has died, and we need to find a place to give them the news. We never had a proper space to do that before. Now we have a room where we can close the door. We can tend to their needs here and help them get home."
The new facility has been wired for Internet, which the old site did not have. That will facilitate information-gathering and record-keeping. "We also have a fire system in here and sprinklers. It really expands our capabilities. And we're on emergency power," said Jones. Those features are key, because in addition to being the on-site medical facility during football games, the new building serves as the backup facility for the campus Health Center. "If for some reason the Health Center can't be used -- be it a power failure or equipment failure -- this is going to be the backup facility on campus," Jones said.
Patrons experiencing a medical emergency during the game don't have to worry about finding the new medical facility. "We tell them to look up in the stands for all of our personnel who are wearing bright green vests. You can either see an usher, police officer or one of the medical personnel in the green vests. We will come get you. Plus, all the ushers, gate people and supervisors have emergency key fobs. If there's a medical emergency, they push the medical button on the fob and that signals our dispatchers up in the press box."
For photos, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/1809 online.