Eye on Health: Beacon athletic trainer recognized for assisting football fan at Elkhart High School game
Beacon certified athletic trainer Erin Foreman was working the sidelines of an Elkhart High School junior varsity football game this summer, tending to student-athletes when she saw some commotion in the stands. With the temperature rising quite quickly on this very warm Saturday morning, a fan from the visiting team had fainted.
Erin Foreman, Beacon certified athletic trainer
Foreman quickly ran up to tend to the woman.
“So as I’m running up the steps, I’m surveying the scene to kind of see what’s going on, taking in information that is important to me as a clinician to process, to see how I’m going to respond,” Foreman said.
As the fan regained consciousness, Foreman took her pulse, got the woman some water and placed cold towels around her neck until EMS arrived to take her to the hospital.
The family felt so grateful for Foreman’s swift response that they contacted the Indiana High School Athletic Association:
We wanted to recognize the staff and fans at Elkhart High School. It was a very warm day for Junior Varsity Football and my Mother-in-law ended up passing out during the game. It was for probably less than a minute but within just a couple of minutes Erin Foreman(Athletic Trainer for Elkhart) was up with us helping along with other members of the high school staff and a police officer. The paramedics arrived very shortly after. An Elkhart fan had also in just a couple of minutes ran and got her a cold water from the concessions. I just can’t tell you how many times we have said today, thank goodness for the staff acting so quickly on her behalf. I know that it was not what any of us expected for her today, but the individuals reacting so quickly, really made a difference for her well-being. She ended up being transported to the hospital and was discharged later that night but it could have been a much different result had they not taken such good care of her in those critical early minutes.
Foreman said she is humbled by the recognition, noting how it’s just “another day on the job.”
But Kara Werner-Sanders, Beacon’s athletic training coordinator, said this is an example of the great importance of having certified athletic trainers at sporting events.
“Erin being there to help that spectator is massive,” Werner-Sanders said. “Her being able to be there on the sidelines, it’s crucial for student athlete healthcare and essentially anybody that’s around. If she wasn’t implementing that training and that emergency care, things could have looked a little bit different.”
Hear much more from both Foreman and Werner-Sanders in our latest WSBT Eye on Health story.
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