News in Brief: EMS calls at Beer Bike less severe than past years

4/9/14 12:55pm

The number of EMS calls made at Beer Bike was approximately the same as in previous years, although the calls made were less serious in nature, according to EMS Director Lisa Basgall and EMS Captain Patrick McCarthy.

The number of EMS calls made at Beer Bike was approximately the same as in previous years, although the calls made were less serious in nature, according to EMS Director Lisa Basgall and EMS Captain Patrick McCarthy. 

Beer Bike is EMS’s largest event, rivaled only by Commencement, NOD and last year’s Centennial celebration, according to McCarthy. 

---

---

“In general, Beer Bike’s our biggest event of the year, just [by] the pure volume of people that come on campus,” McCarthy said.

Basgall said weather, such as excessive heat or rain, is an important factor in the number of calls made. 

“If it’s [really] hot, then people drink more, and when it’s rainy we get more slip-and-fall accidents or cuts and scrapes and that kind of thing,” Basgall said. “This year it wasn’t super hot and it wasn’t super wet [at Beer Bike], and so it was good.” 

According to McCarthy, the distribution of types of calls made during Beer Bike was estimated at a third for fractures, a third for intoxication and a third for miscellaneous incidents such as chest pains, strokes and seizures. 

“[The distribution of calls at Beer Bike] generally mirrors our call distribution for the whole year,” McCarthy said. 

However, Basgall said overall, the calls made this year were less serious than in previous years, possibly due to the additional food provided by RPC. 

“RPC was really well-organized this year; adding the additional food stop helped a lot,” Basgall said. “Anytime anybody’s having anything to drink that’s alcoholic, having food can help a lot too. I think the amount of food people had definitely contributed to less people that felt sick at the end of the day.”

---