title: Survey of medical services at major league baseball stadiums.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
authors.forename: O J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pirrallo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rubin
mesh_terms: 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