From allergies to alcohol, KU Health will keep fans updated during the World Cup
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU Health will dedicate several daily medical shows to World Cup health issues.
- The University of Kansas Health System is the official medical services provider in.
- KU advises travelers to pack enough prescriptions and store medical info on phones.
The University of Kansas Health System will dedicate several of its daily medical shows to World Cup health issues over the coming weeks.
As the official medical services provider for FIFA World Cup in Kansas City, KU will be at the center of the action, tending to players and providing first aid to fans during matches at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, aka, temporarily, Kansas City Stadium.
KU and its sports medicine experts know Arrowhead well as the longtime health care provider for the Kansas City Chiefs.
As it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kansas City’s medical community is working behind the scenes across health systems and state lines, this time to take care of the thousands of soccer fans expected in town.
KU is reaching out to fans via social media posts. One of the more recent ones — tips for international travelers — advises overseas fans to pack enough prescription medications to last while they’re here and to store important medical information on their cell phones.
During the pandemic, KU devoted its online “Medical Morning Update” to all things COVID, a spotlight it now turns to World Cup health issues, from pollen counts to trends that pop up in local emergency departments during the events.
In the same vein, University Health has created a limited-edition webcast, Healthy Goals KC, that will go live on YouTube the day after each World Cup match in Kansas City, hospital officials announced this week.
That webcast will also provide World Cup-related health information from physicians — from discussions about major injuries that might happen during the games to health advice for fans. (Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.)
Keeping thousands of fans from around the world healthy and safe is a unique, heavy lift for Kansas City’s hospitals, public health departments and first responders.
Public health officials have spent more than a year and a half preparing for what they consider their biggest concerns: the Kansas City heat, a measles outbreak, cases of food poisoning and sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains plans to hand out 5,000 free, safer-sex kits containing condoms during World Cup events.
KU’s World Cup updates will livestream at 8 a.m. on Facebook and YouTube from June 12-July 10.
Here’s the proposed lineup.
June 12: World Cup preparations.
June 15: Urgent care vs. emergency department.
June 17: Allergies and traveling.
June 19: Providing health care to visitors who speak many languages.
June 22: Safe and responsible alcohol consumption.
June 24: Concussions and injury prevention in sports.
June 26: Heat, hydration and heart health.
June 29: Stress of major sporting events.
July 1: Fireworks safety.
July 3: Encore fireworks safety show.
July 6: Dangerous, heat-related greenhouse effect.
July 8: Jet lag and sleep disruptions for international travelers.
July 10: Health care at and away from the stadium.
.jpg)