Simple Tracking System during Special Events

As a patient tracking and reunification tool, Simple Tracking System (STS) helps public safety agencies document, track and report on the number of patients treated, the status of injuries impacting those patients, their whereabouts throughout a response, and the destination where patients may be transported to for further medical care during any kind of emergency. Agencies may utilize STS for small to large responses depending on the size of their department and the resources available. One area where the likelihood for a large number of patients exists is special events. These could include concerts, festivals, parades, sporting events, demonstrations, protests, and more.

Threats to Special Events

The threats that could potentially impact special events are endless, ranging from natural and accidental to manmade emergencies. And since events bring large populations of people together, if a threat does impact the event, it could result in multiple to mass casualties.

Most recently in the news, weather has impacted summer concerts. On July 8 at an Ed Sheeran concert in Pittsburgh, PA, a total of 37 calls for service were placed due to the heat and humidity. A total of 17 patients were hospitalized with two patients suffering cardiac arrests. In June at a Louis Tomlinson concert at Red Rocks, CO, golf ball-sized hail injured as many as 90 concertgoers, hospitalizing 7 in total. Staff issued a mandatory evacuation of the 6,000 attendees.

Accidental emergencies can also occur. At least 129 people were killed and another 150 were injured after a crowd surge during a Halloween festival in South Korea in 2022. In 2021, a fatal crowd crush occurred at the 2021 Astroworld Festival resulting in 300 injuries, 25 hospitalizations, and 10 deaths. A similar incident occurred in March 2023 at a GloRilla concert stampede, resulting in 7 injuries and 3 deaths.

In these examples, could your organization effectively document patients treated onsite as well as track their whereabouts and status?

In a more nefarious incident, a Noel Gallagher concert in Saratoga Springs, NY was evacuated due to a bomb threat earlier this month. The panic and chaos of a large-scale evacuation could have resulted in some injuries, luckily that was not the case. However, would your agency be ready to document and track concertgoers injured during an emergency evacuation? Or worse, manage the tracking of mass casualties if the bomb threat was real?

Special Event MCIs

Special events have been targeted time and time again in terrorist and violent extremist attacks. Events are often considered soft targets due to the number of attendees, lack of security, and venue settings. In addition, attendees are usually engaging in social activities leaving them distracted and defenseless.

Below are just some tragedies witnessed at special events across the globe:

  • Festivals (Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in 2019 and Route 91 Harvest festival in 2017)
  • Concerts (Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and Bataclan theatre attack in 2015)
  • Sporting Events (Stade de France bombing in 2015 and Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996)
  • Marathons (Boston Marathon bombing in 2013)
  • Parades (Waukesha Christmas Parade ramming in 2021)
  • Protests (Charlottesville car attack in 2017)

Sadly, special events will continue to serve as targets for targeted violence while at the same time being susceptible to natural and accidental emergencies. It’s important that public safety agencies as well as venues have a system in place to account for attendees who may seek or require medical attention, track their destination to a medical facility or other location for care, and reunite victims with their loved ones following an evacuation or emergency situation.

STS as the Solution

Equip your agency with an effective and reliable patient tracking and reunification system that is tagless and requires no external equipment and little training. Seamlessly track dozens to hundreds of patients with the snap of a photo from the point of first care to their transport to safety at a medical facility, providing command with real-time information and data on the overall response. Following the emergency, provide to families and friends seeking peace of mind on the status and whereabouts of their loved ones.

Product Features

  • Tagless
  • Smart device application
  • Geolocation
  • Scalable
  • Inexpensive
  • Multilevel encryption
  • Cloud-based
  • Unlimited users
  • HIPAA-compliant