From bruises to cardiac arrest, U.S. Open medical personnel care for fans

When a fan collapsed and entered cardiac arrest at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, Director of Operations for Plum EMS Brian Maloney said medical personnel at the tournament were prepared.

A nearby police officer began chest compressions within seconds, and a physician arrived soon after. By the time medics loaded the patients into an ambulance, the patient’s heartbeat had been restored, he said.

“We were pretty much planning for the worst-case scenario, hoping for the best,” Maloney said. “This community was definitely ready for this sporting event.”

Though that event was the most serious of the Open, it was far from the only medical intervention. Over the seven-day event, Maloney said, medical personnel had around 3,000 interactions with fans.

Many of those were simple exchanges of bandages, sunscreen or menstrual products, but several moments — about 170 of them — required paramedics or physicians to respond to fans in need throughout the 191-acre course.

To make that possible, the director said he more than quadrupled his staff with temporary medics from nearby departments. In total, about 500 medical personnel staffed the massive tournament, according to Myron Rickens, a paramedic and UPMC director of pre-hospital care

If a fan entered a medical tent, they may have been greeted by Rickens or Dr. Vincent Mosesso, normally found at UPMC Presbyterian hospital.

Along with Maloney and many others, the two have been planning for the tournament for more than a year in partnership with Allegheny Health Network.

Some of the more common injuries at Oakmont were heat-related, especially on Thursday, Rickens said. The paramedic said there was an “ebb and flow” of patients throughout the day, often peaking at hot mid-day hours.

Then, Maloney said tents might resemble a scene from “M*A*S*H” as medics cared for dozens of patients at a time.

“The real thing that drives a lot of events like this would be weather and changes in the weather,” Rickens said.

In a tent, Mosesso said, two physicians, four nurses and several other pre-hospital personnel could be found at any time. Each of them are volunteers, he said.

When they’re not aiding patients in makeshift cots, Mosesso said workers are often providing simple care like providing fans with fluids, suturing cuts and finding space for nursing mothers.

“We’re providing critical medical care, but we’re also providing a public service,” Mosesso said.

Aside from attendees, the doc also pays house calls to the golfers at Oakmont’s clubhouse for a variety of minor issues, he said.

At all times, Mosesso said, UPMC has specialist orthopedics and ear, nose and throat doctors on call.

Dr. Sarah Flaherty, an emergency medical physician, said her goal is to help fans “bounce back” onto the course.

Rather than delivering fans to the hospital, Flaherty said, she tries to return fans to a course-ready state, rescuing their health but also their experience.

She calls that process “treat to street.”

“It’s just nice to let people stay and really just enjoy the event,” Flaherty said.

Plus, helping fans at medical tents takes the load off paramedics in the field and doctors in the hospitals.

Since the tournament began, Maloney said, only about 20 fans have been transported to the hospital, down from 26 in the 2016 Open.

That year, Maloney served as a bike paramedic, cycling the rolling hills of Oakmont with 40 pounds of gear.

Nine years later, however, those same paramedics are using electric bikes, which he said is the fastest way to reach emergencies on the course.

On Sunday, he said he was proud of his medics and “very pleased” with how the week had progressed.

“When these calls started, the crew members — even if some where temporary — were phenomenal,” Maloney said.