Volunteers needed for marathon medical tents
Organizers of the Music City Marathon, which benefits the National Leukemia Society, are looking for volunteers to help staff medical tents at the April 29 race.
Dr. Paul J. Rummo, assistant professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at VUMC and associate medical director for the marathon, said about 800 people are needed to service the tents.
"We will have at least one medical tent set up along each mile of the race and we need people to help us handle any medical needs of runners at those sites. We will need physicians, nurses and even non-medically trained volunteers to handle record keeping at each tent."
According to Rummo, nearly 10,000 runners from all over the country — as well as several international teams — are expected to hit the streets of Nashville. Runners will cover a 26.2-mile course, which will start at Centennial Park, head downtown on West End Avenue, then wind around the east section of the city before ending at Adelphia Coliseum.
A concert featuring country music artists Kenny Rogers and Collin Raye will be held at the coliseum following the race.
Rummo said volunteering to work in a medical tent will take a few hours on event day, with various times available throughout the day. An orientation session the week before the event is also required.
Volunteers will be given a special T-shirt and one ticket to the end-of-race concert.
"We still could use a few team captains who need to be physicians with a Tennessee license. They will be in charge of running a medical team consisting of several physicians and nurses," Rummo said.
"Other volunteers will be trained. There will be ambulances standing by, so it's really first-aid type problems that will be addressed. Emergencies will be quickly handled by EMS personnel, if necessary."
Those interested in volunteering should call Rummo at the Sports Medicine Center at 322-7878.