On your mark… get set...Volunteer!
“You get to meet the most interesting people from all over the world,” said Karen Duplessis, RN, an IV nurse. She was bitten by the marathon bug in 1991 when asked to volunteer by a former classmate from nursing school.
Apparently it was infectious, because the next year Rose Ann Amari, RN, also an IV nurse at BWH, joined her in one of the two medical tents located behind the finish line at Copley Square. “They only allow skilled IV nurses to place lines to hydrate the runners,” said Amari, who sprints from cot to cot delivering saline or saline-dextrose solution. “Many runners need up to a liter of fluid because they forget to drink along the route. Or they miscalculate the effect of the weather, thinking that they don’t need as much in cool weather.”
“They drag in like wilted flowers,” said Claire O’Connell, RNC, of BWH’s Burn and Trauma Unit (7D). “But these are generally healthy people, so once they’re rehydrated, they bloom. They jump up from the cots, thank us and walk out, only to have someone else replace them.” Her job is to check vital signs and, in concert with the on-site physicians, determine if the EMS needs to transport anyone to the hospital, which is relatively rare. In addition to saline, the runners are provided blankets, broth, juices, sodas and salty snacks like chips and pretzels.
Cindy Slater, RN, BSN, CCRN, nurse in charge of BWH’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, is entering her second year as volunteer. “I’d describe it as organized chaos,” she said. As runners enter the tent, their numbers are recorded, they are given a tag and assigned to a cot. “We don’t see many injuries,” she noted. “Most problems are from lack of fluid, such as muscle cramps and gastrointestinal problems.”
Sometimes runners don’t know they’re in trouble. The Sweep Team, which also includes nurses from BWH, watches for runners staggering around, plunks them in wheelchairs and wisks them away to a tent. In addition, several BWH nurses actually run the Marathon, many raising funds for the hospital.
With feet aching from a long day of standing on concrete, the BWH nurse volunteers treat themselves to a night on the town, staying in a hotel and sporting a coveted prize. “One of the best parts is walking away with a Marathon jacket,” said Slater. “It means I did it, I just didn’t run it.”
Do you want to be a Marathon volunteer? Please contact Rose Ann Amari, ext. 7773, who will direct you to the appropriate office of the Boston Athletic Association.