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Angels of the
Infield
Premier Health/Miami Valley Hospital Emergency Staff Check the Pulse of
Eldora Speedway
ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 19, 2017) – Built in 2015, Eldora Speedway’s
state-of-the-art infield care center has intervened in a variety
injuries and ailments.
Liz Denlinger, R.N., Emergency Department Nursing Director at Miami
Valley Hospital, can relate.
Prior to becoming nursing director at Eldora’s infield care center, she
served with CareFlight Air and Mobile Services. It was during those
visits to Eldora Speedway – with CareFlight on stand-by if needed –
that Denlinger and the crew watched the racing action on Eldora’s
half-mile, high-banked oval from the wooden bleachers.
“We’d sit in the stands and get pelted with dirt,” Denlinger said,
smiling at the memory.
These days, Denlinger and the emergency staff watch Eldora’s major
races from the care center. The team from Premier Health/Miami Valley
Hospital, Southwestern Ohio’s first Level I Trauma Center, returns to
Eldora Speedway this week for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
(NCWTS) Eldora Dirt Derby (July 18-19).
This is the fifth year Premier Health and Eldora Speedway have worked
together for the NCWTS Dirt Derby. It’s the first year Eldora has
requested the trauma team staff the infield care center for additional
races.
“We are here to support the infield, the pits and crews, the fans in
the infield and the racers,” Denlinger said. “Working out of (the
infield care center), it’s top notch.”
A team responds when an on-track incident occurs. The EMS and track
crews make first contact and decide whether to send an injured driver
directly to an area hospital or to the infield care center. If a driver
is sent to the care center, the staff treats and/or stabilizes the
driver before determining the next step.
“They don’t have to be sent to us, but we’re here for them if they need
us,” Denlinger said. “We need to make sure we move them forward so they
get the attention they need.”
NASCAR national events require an infield care center. The center is
typically staffed with a doctor, two nurses and Denlinger. More staff
can be added as needed. The infield care center, which houses four
medical bays, is equipped to handle on-track accidents as well as
off-track ailments like chest pains, severe abdominal pain,
lacerations, dehydration, headaches and “it’s a dirt track so lots of
stuff in the eyes,” Denlinger said.
In addition to the care center, Eldora also offers an FAA-spec helipad
for Premier Health’s CareFlight helicopter. The helipad is also
available to volunteer fire departments and rescue squads in Darke and
Mercer counties for assistance.
“We can provide initial advanced life support to anyone who would need
it in the infield,” Denlinger said of the versatility of the infield
care center combined with CareFlight. “Our goal would be to identify if
they need to be sent out of here, whether by ambulance or by air. I
think the ability to have the EMS transportation they have (at Eldora)
and in conjunction with CareFlight, we have the ability to take care of
people and move them quickly to get them where they need to be.”
As for Denlinger, she now watches the on-track action on closed-circuit
feeds with no fear of getting pelted by the dirt.
“I wasn’t always a race fan. Once you start doing this you have to
either embrace it or get out of it. I would say now I am a race fan,”
Denlinger said.
“I remember when they brought me down to the infield to show me around
(the infield care center) and the hot laps started for the Dirt Late
Model Dream. I could not believe how fast these cars were going around
that track. I was pretty impressed.”
The same can be said for the infield care center. The facility was
built with the future in mind.
“For the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, we have to meet their
medical standards, which are clearly detailed line by line,” said Terry
Kibler, who oversees Eldora’s Track Services and Safety Team. “There
has to be a certain amount of beds and rooms. We expanded beyond that
and went above and beyond in anticipation of standards changing in the
next 15 or 20 years. It meets the exact same standards that Daytona
(International Speedway) or Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) are required
to meet.”
The fifth annual Eldora Dirt Derby kicks off with the Tuesday Tailgate,
featuring practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a full
program culminating with a 75-lap feature for the big-block modifieds
of the Super DIRTcar Series.
Wednesday’s activities begin with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
driver autograph session at 3 p.m. Single-truck qualifying is slated
for 5:15 p.m., the first of five qualifying heat races is slated for
7:30 p.m., and the 150-lap feature will go green at 9:30 p.m. The Super
DIRTcar Series modifieds will also be in action with a non-points
exhibition event.
Tickets are still available by visiting EldoraSpeedway.com or calling
(937) 338-3815.
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