HCS invests in Polar Pods to keep students safe from heat illness

 

This year to take the safety of students to the next level, the Hampton City Schools athletics department provided Polar Pods to each of the high school athletic programs. The Polar Pod system is a portable, collapsible immersion system to facilitate the rapid cooling of individuals. (Athletic trainers will have the Polar Pod with them at all times to provide immediate help, if needed.)

 

According to the National Athletic Trainers Association's (NATA) position statement on exertional heat illnesses:

• Cold water immersion (CWI) is recognized as the gold standard method of cooling.
  
• Death from exertional heat stroke (EHS) is 100 percent preventable when proper recognition and treatment protocols are implemented.

“The safety of athletes is at the forefront of everything we do. We prepare for all types of medical emergencies to include heat illness and/or heat stroke,” said team coordinator of athletic trainers Riley Fontaine. “HCS has taken a proactive approach to heat illness by acquiring polar life pods, an effective and potentially lifesaving sideline cooling method. Polar life pods are simple, portable devices used to rapidly lower core body temperature in patients suffering from heat illness.”

 

This is one method HCS provides to ensure our athletes are safe from the heat. Click here to see the Heat Guidelines for Athletic Participation.