Survey of medical services at major league baseball stadiums.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the availability and level of medical services for fans at major league baseball games in the United States.


METHODS
A 10-item questionnaire was sent to the operations managers of each of 28 major league baseball stadiums. The survey was distributed in cooperation with a major league baseball club. Telephone follow-up was used to complete missing responses. The survey addressed five areas of fan medical services: 1) health-care provider availability and compensation; 2) advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) capabilities, including equipment; 3) presence of on-site ambulance(s); 4) fan fatalities; and 5) alcohol consumption limitations.


RESULTS
Survey response was 100%. Healthcare providers are on-site at all stadiums: nurses (86%), physicians (75%), emergency medical technicians (EMTs, [68%]), and paramedics (50%). Ninety-six percent use a combination of health-care providers. The most common medical teams are nurse+EMT+physician (25%) and nurse+EMT+paramedic+physician (18%). All health-care providers receive some form of compensation. All stadiums have at least one ACLS-certified provider; 96% have ACLS equipment. Ambulances are on-site 75% of the time. Sixty-eight percent of the clubs reported at least one fan fatality through the 1992 and 1993 seasons (mean 1.1, range 0-4). All clubs limit alcohol consumption; 96% use multiple approaches. The various approaches include: 1) specific inning discontinuation (86%); 2) maximum purchase (68%); 3) restricted sale locations (64%); and 4) crowd conduct (57%). Advertisement for responsible alcohol consumption is displayed at 75% of the stadiums; designated-driver programs exist at 46%.


CONCLUSIONS
All major league baseball clubs provide medical services for fans. Furthermore, almost all stadiums have ACLS capabilities. Responsible alcohol consumption also is a recognized priority for fan safety.
Ma
O J
OJ
Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
Pirrallo
R G
RG
Rubin
J M
JM
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D001484:Baseball; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D008399:Mass Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States