The World Games
The 11th edition of The World Games (TWG) was held in Birmingham, Ala., July 7-17, 2022, with UAB Medicine serving as the official medical sponsor. UAB supplied medical volunteers to oversee the health and medical safety of all participants, spectators, volunteers, and others associated with the events.
UAB health care providers organized and staffed medical tents, first aid stations, and a health education pavilion while providing health outreach to a local and global population. The event drew over 3,000 athletes representing more than 100 nations, as well as thousands of spectators and visitors.
Nursing: by the numbers
Here are some highlights of how UAB Medicine supported this local event, with the critical help of clinical nurse volunteers:
- There were 21 event locations and 15 venues serving as host sites for activities.
- Over 140 clinical nurse volunteers participated.
- Clinical nurse volunteers worked over 970 hours.
- There were 772 medical encounters involving athletes and spectators at the field of play, resulting in few urgent care and emergency room visits.
Support for clinical nurse volunteers
UAB Medicine supported clinical nurse volunteers in the following ways:
- Pay: Nursing leadership recognized that clinical nurses wanted to volunteer in this global health care outreach opportunity.
- Volunteers included salaried nurses and hourly staff.
- A cost center was established to pay hourly clinical nurses for their volunteer time at TWG.
- Clinical nurses applying for the Professional Nurse Development Program (PNDP), UAB’s clinical ladder, earned points for volunteering.
- Scheduling: Nurse managers supported clinical nurse volunteers by aligning their work schedules with their volunteer commitments. Adjustments to work schedules were granted to accommodate nurses’ requests.
- Logistics: Given the scope of TWG and its impact on the health and well-being of the community, UAB operated a command center to keep volunteers – including clinical nurse volunteers – and the organization itself up to date on logistics. Each day of the games, the command center sent reports to volunteers with important information on:
- Weather – Keeping clinical nurses informed helped them plan for extreme heat conditions.
- Parking – UAB offered shuttle options, so clinical nurse volunteers wouldn’t have to deal with traffic, road closures, and limited parking.
- Supply deliveries
- Emergency notification communication – A special text notification was set up in case of emergencies.
- Streamlined communication – Contact numbers were provided to streamline and coordinate additional care for certain groups.
- Additional medical hazards – Nurses were prepared to deal with snakebite victims, as there were reports of rattlesnakes at one of the outdoor venues.
United States Football League
The inaugural season of the United States Football League (USFL) kicked off on April 16, 2022, in Birmingham, Ala., with UAB Medicine serving as the official medical provider.
Members of the UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine team – along with other UAB providers, volunteers, and clinical nursing staff – completed preseason physicals for approximately 400 players and provided ongoing care during all regular season games.
Nursing: by the numbers
Here are some highlights of how UAB Medicine supported this local event, with the critical help of clinical nursing volunteers from across the organization, including staff from UAB Employee Health and UAB Medicine Ambulatory Services:
- Preseason physicals: Patient assessments, vital sign checks, and EKGs were carried out by a group of 40 clinical nursing staff, including 30 RNs and 10 CMAs.
- Ongoing care: 6 RNs provided ongoing care to players.
- Clinical nursing staff worked a total of 108 hours.
- A UAB Medicine leader provided daily support throughout the season.
This story is part of the Nursing Annual Report 2022. Click here to view the report.