The final day of the 2016 Country Stampede was understandably the busiest, with plenty of orthopadic and heat related injuries that required treatment from the medics on site at the festival and in the campground area. But there was also some good news to report in regard to the number of patients seen.
“I think our numbers, considering it was a three-day event (as opposed to the former four-day format), are down slightly”, said Riley County EMS Director Larry Couchman. But there was another side to the story. “I think we had a little bit more of a mix of sicker patients”.
As for that last day, Couchman reported he and his staff treated 37 individuals in the main medical tent. That’s almost double the 20 patients seen on Friday. He also noted that there were eight orthopedic injuries, along with 10 people treated as heat cases.
Couchman also added his concern about one statistic: injuries related to alcohol consumption. Eleven subjects were seen by the medics for this reason. Unfortunately, alcohol-related injuries are common with this type of event, and the warm temperatures and festive atmosphere contributing factors as well.
Not all the weather news was bad. In fact, Couchman noted that there was concern earlier in the week about the forecast high temperatures. By the time the festival began on Thursday, temperatures had fallen approximately ten degrees and Mother Nature also provided a steady breeze and generous cloud cover for most of the weekend. The rain, which is generally a part of any Stampede, fell for just short periods of time and the concerts stayed dry.
Couchman’s staff included members of the Riley and Pottawatomie County EMS departments, along with the Blue Township Fire Rescue. He was quite grateful for their assistance.
“It sure makes our job a lot easier with what those volunteers do for us”.
He expects to have a preliminary report, with final patient counts, ready for the County Commissioners later on Monday.
