Medical tent staffers ready for Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon
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PARKERSBURG -- After pushing their bodies for over 13 miles, some runners in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon may need assistance at the end of the race at the medical tent staffed by volunteers.
Susan Abdella, director of Emergency Services at Camden Clark Medical Center, has been a member of the Half Marathon committee and involved in the event for seven years. About 35 volunteers from the hospital give their time at the race.
She said the medical tent is comprised of several smaller components. There are volunteers from the hospital, including nurses and people from registration, guest services and housekeeping. There will be a physician on duty at the tent, which is set up in the parking lot at Fifth and Market streets, next to the Smoot Theatre.
"If people want to volunteer to help with the medical tent, we can always find a job for them," Abdella said.
The ambulance service is involved, with a unit at the medical tent and another on the race route, she said. Abdella has people who like working at the finish line, providing water and other types of assistance right after runners cross the line, including wheelchair assistance to the medical tent.
The medical crew usually provides fluids, cold compresses and other assistance in the medical tent. They also will be set up to do EKGs if needed. If a person appears to be in serious distress, they can be transported to the hospital, Abdella said.
"Last year, because the humidity was low, we transported one or two people. The year before that the humidity was really high and we transported seven," she said. "When you worry that somebody might be having a cardiac event or something happens afterward, the doctor evaluates them."
First Settlement Physical Therapy will have personnel in the medical tent to provide massages and rubdowns for the runners.
Josh Lemley, marketing director for First Settlement, said the business has been involved in the half marathon for about 12 years and everyone looks forward to the event each year. About 30 to 40 staff members usually volunteer to help with the race. They work to provide post-race stretching and massage services for runners who need assistance.
"We just want to make sure they are comfortable after putting so much stress on their bodies," Lemley said, estimating about 200 to 300 runners take advantage of the physical therapy services each year.
"We kind of become that one-stop shop for the runners afterward, just to make sure that we keep everyone that's participating in the event healthy," Abdella said of all of the support provided at the medical ten.
"It's amazing to me to watch how this thing comes together," she said of the organization involved in the half marathon and everything associated with the event.
Abdella said they usually see 30 to 40 patients at the medical tent following a race who need some type of medical help. She said that is very good based on the 1,500 runners who generally participate and indicates they are doing good jobs of preparing and conditioning themselves in anticipation of the race.