SXSW 2024: ATCEMS sets up field hospital as emergency calls expected to rise
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Travis County EMS is ready to go at a moment's notice.
"The footprint that we have allows us to make quick access to patients because of the road closures and the increased pedestrian traffic, and it works really well for us," said Eric Gordon, the commander of special events at ATCEMS.
EMS is set up on Fifth Street near the Brazos intersection.
It's only their second day here.
Every year, they said, call volumes start to rise as SXSW turns to more of its music events.
"We run all types of medical calls as well as trauma-type calls, so we haven't identified any trends," said Gordon. "In years past we've had alcohol-related calls tend to increase a little bit as well as people not staying hydrated enough, drinking enough water."
R.N. Kristen Hullum, a trauma injury prevention coordinator, at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center, said they also see similar types of patients increase.
"Most of the emergency room visits tend to be really minor in nature, so lots of slips and falls, some dehydrations, maybe some respiratory symptoms because we are still at the tail end of flu season," said Hullum.
While most responses are minor, teams are ready for the more serious, like the hit-and-run that killed and critically injured one person on Tuesday.
It happened just outside SXSW boundaries.
"We plan for those types of events," said Gordon. "We build a pretty robust structure to handle incidents like that where we have those extra resources to come in as well as more resources to handle the other call volume that's happening out in the downtown area."
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First responders said they're well-prepared to answer whatever call they get, but festival goers can do a few things to avoid being the caller on the other end of the line.
"I would suggest bringing hand sanitizer with you and just trying to stay as healthy as possible," said Hullum. "Anytime we have these large crowds we just have to be really mindful of our physical safety and our personal health."
Emergency responders also said to stay hydrated this week and wear sturdy shoes if you're walking a lot, especially if we get that forecasted rain.
Trips and falls make up a lot of minor emergency calls.
E-scooters might sound like a good option to get across the city, but Hullum also said that those are a big safety concern, especially without a helmet.