A year ago, ASPIRE Sports Institute started teaching their Sports Responder Course, designed as a certification for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and Paramedics. This course not only improves the coordination of care with athletic trainers (ATs) but also improves care in rural and underserved communities. In many cases, athletic trainers and team physicians are not present, or even accessible, at sporting events in many areas, leaving local EMTs as the primary point of assistance during training and competition.
In the last 6 months, the course was held at Fayetteville High School for about 20 local first responders. This community is served by volunteer firefighters and emergency responders with no access to an athletic trainer. Providing this education has helped elevate the level of care provided to the athletes in this community. Additionally, we were able to teach the course to all of the Hoover Fire Department - about 135 firefighters. The city of Hoover typically has athletic trainers staffed at all sporting events, but the SRC will now improve the coordination of athlete care between healthcare professionals.
The course is currently taught in a live lecture setting. However, we are planning to transition the course to be available in video segments virtually in order to reach more first responders and further improve the safety of our athletes and communities.
Your generosity can support:
- $10: Sports Responder Supporter
- $25: Sports Responder Olympic Teammate
- $100: Sports Responder Class Sponsor
*your contribution is 100% tax-deductible
