CHS SAFEGUARDS RACING FANS’ HEALTH AT SARATOGA, BELMONT AND AQUEDUCT

Comprehensive Health Services staffs behind-the-scenes health units at 3 NY state racetracks

SARATOGA, N.Y. – Aug. 4, 2004 – “A day at the races” usually means carefree recreation, but when the unthinkable happens—from a barn injury to a race patron’s hypertensive attack—three New York Racing Association (NYRA) racetracks turn to Comprehensive Health Services (CHS) for help.
CHS, a national occupational health services company based in Vienna, Va., provides emergency medical technicians (EMTs), nurses and physicians for the racetracks at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. At Saratoga, whose five-week season began Wednesday, July 28, this year was the second year CHS has staffed the racetrack.

Saratoga’s EMTs opened the season April 1, when morning training commenced. Every day, CHS EMTs reported to the track at 5:30 a.m. to sit at the track rail in an ambulance as exercise riders put the horses through their paces. The EMTs respond to all emergencies, whether on the track or in the barn areas. A second training track opened as the season approached. On July 28, six more EMTs, three RNs and Jean McMahon, M.D., came on board to staff the Saratoga First Aid Clinic, providing health services to patrons, NYRA employees and jockeys.

“It’s an amazing crew. They work together with efficiency and professionalism,” said Karen Dunseith, RN, COHN, the CHS account manager who oversees the racetrack crews. “Dr. Jean McMahon, the supervising physician, Deborah Koransky, RN nurse manager, and Cheryl Doubleday, the EMT supervisor, coordinate the health teams and maintain a very nice relationship with the New York Racing Association.”

Most recently, during Belmont’s 2004 season, which ended July 25, CHS provided health services during the race for the Triple Crown contender, the Belmont Stakes on June 5. On that single day:

• CHS managed 24 EMTs and six registered nurses stationed at four stationary first-aid points.
• Other EMTs stationed throughout the crowd each were responsible for 10,000 to 12,000 race patrons.
• CHS EMT’s were on the track in an ambulance right behind the horses to provide immediate medical care in the event a jockey was unseated or injured.
• Nine ambulances were onsite and handled 30 transports to area hospitals.
• Staff monitored and attended to the needs of a crowd of 120,456 race patrons.
• CHS staff also facilitated health needs for VIPs to ensure that they could attend the race without concern.

The CHS Belmont team consists of Anthony Durante, EMT supervisor, Dahlia Brooks, assistant EMT supervisor, and Doris Glier, RN.

“ The CHS team worked seamlessly in providing swift professional responses to all emergencies and hospital transports,” Dunseith said. “The organizational skills and dedication these people bring to their jobs is exemplary.”

Year-round, CHS manages the Belmont Back Stretch clinic, which provides medical care for the staff who make Belmont run before, during and after the races, many of whom are low-income workers from the U.S. and other nations.

An addition to CHS’s work for the New York Racing Association, CHS designs, implements and manages occupational health programs for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and some of the largest government agencies in the nation. With decades of experience, CHS has earned the trust of these organizations and today manages occupational health services for more than 1.9 million employees across all 50 states. CHS’s “lifecycle” approach to employee health
from pre-placement exams and wellness/fitness services, through medical surveillance, workplace safety and employee assistance programs – ensures its clients have a truly comprehensive and proactive approach to occupational health.

About CHS

Founded in 1975, CHS is a leader in the design, implementation, and management of occupational health services. With in-house medical professionals, a national network of CHS certified physicians, and best practices built on decades of experience serving blue chip clients in the public and private sectors, CHS uses its unique resources to integrate services across the entire occupational health lifecycle. A founding member of the Occupational and Environmental Health Foundation, CHS also is a corporate sponsor of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award. The CHS Web site is at http://www.chsmedical.com.

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1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Publication No. 03-4158, July 2003. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/pubs/statobes.htm#econ