First AZ summit victim - no real clinic at Sugarloaf?

[dlague]

Came up early with a group to get some extra days in. One lady in our group broke her leg on Hayburner today. I was really surprised that the mountain doesn't have an actual medical clinic. Had to go to a hospital in Farmington. Left here at 3pm, just got back at 10. Ski patrol was very nice but said the clinic wasn't profitable so they closed it. Very disappointing.

What ski areas think there first aid clinic 's are profit center? At hospital there were 6 others, 5 legs and 1 shoulder injury all from SL today.

I thought the conditions were pretty good, but the snow was very hard. Be careful out there people.

That is my biggest concern this year. Lack of snow and warmer temps prior means very firm conditions. I find that many people and that includes myself often go down runs for the first time without knowing what conditions are like and react to what they are seeing. Well ice and very firm can be hard to react to. That being said, with conditions being what they are, one slip and you are sliding a long way on hard surfaces especially on runs like Hayburner where speeds are higher. We always tell our kids to make an observation run through a park to better understand features. Based on the current conditions, it may be wise to do the same on your first runs down a trail. Be safe!

Wishing we had Powder or PP conditions but it is what it is!

 

[Puck it]

We always tell our kids to make an observation run through a park to better understand features. Based on the current conditions, it may be wise to do the same on your first runs down a trail. Be safe!

Where were you when i needed this info? We actually did two previous runs before I bought it.

 

[dlague]

Where were you when i needed this info? We actually did two previous runs before I bought it.

Obviously you were not observant enough then! Did not notice powder pockets on earlier runs?

 

[jrmagic]

7 hospital-worthy injuries at one time on a non-holiday Thursday sounds excessive. Bad day. I wonder what the full day total was?

I agree it sounds very excessive even for a peak Sarurday. That's crazy!!

Kathleen - sorry your friend got hurt. Hopefully the rest of you are still able to enjoy the trip while attending to your friends needs.

 

[Puck it]

Obviously you were not observant enough then! Did not notice powder pockets on earlier runs?

Yup. Just did not see the last one!

 

[machski]

Sunday River has the Western Maine Mountain clinic.

http://www.wmhcc.org/wmh_body.cfm?id=2847

Yup, but this is a ski season only clinic. It closes the first week of April (or there abouts). They are aligned with Stevens Memorial and you must pay upfront regardless of insurance. However, when I broke my ankle skiing two seasons ago, they were great and the visit (x-rays and all) only went as an office visit so BCBS reimbursed me for everything but the copay. Because Stevens was in network, they were able to suit the claim for me. Funny part was when I went to the ortho back home, they died laughing and were psyched to see actual film for the x-rays (so not the most modern digital equip). Still, better than driving to Rumford or Paris in a driving snowstorm, and honestly, they diagnosed it quite well.

 

[machski]

Hope your friend recovers quickly and we'll!

 

[rocks860]

I spent the afternoon in the clinic at sugarbush yesterday. Apparently it is affiliated with UVM medical but no one is there until Friday-Sunday so I just had a ski patroller check out my shoulder. I skied again today and it hasn't popped out of the socket yet so I'm gonna push my luck and just go to urgent care on Sunday when I get back home

 

[MadMadWorld]

I'd be interested to hear how it's staffed.

Is it a mountain owned and operated facility or is it part of a local GP?

Stop trying to get sales leads

 

[phin]

I spent the afternoon in the clinic at sugarbush yesterday. Apparently it is affiliated with UVM medical but no one is there until Friday-Sunday so I just had a ski patroller check out my shoulder. I skied again today and it hasn't popped out of the socket yet so I'm gonna push my luck and just go to urgent care on Sunday when I get back home

Pro move


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Warp Daddy]

Erg. Be safe out there guys !! 7 in a day is excessive . DHS what you describe in terms of mergers ,affiliations and othet alliances IS the future in all states .

The pace of change in the hospital business in just the last 2 yrs is exponential and is making the last decade look like the 1950's . It is a serious game changer and the public is generally not aware yet of just what will happen and how services will be delivered and sited .BRAVE NEW WORLD is here .

 

[colinuberalles]

I have nt seen anything

 

[neversummer]

Dont get hurt silly snow bunny!

 

[deadheadskier]

Erg. Be safe out there guys !! 7 in a day is excessive . DHS what you describe in terms of mergers ,affiliations and othet alliances IS the future in all states .

The pace of change in the hospital business in just the last 2 yrs is exponential and is making the last decade look like the 1950's . It is a serious game changer and the public is generally not aware yet of just what will happen and how services will be delivered and sited .BRAVE NEW WORLD is here .

Absolutely. Very fast consolidation and changes. Some for the better, some worse.

Talked with Sugarloaf management about this unfortunate accident. It was as I figured. They used to have a clinic open Wednesday through Sunday. It was a satellite facility of Franklin hospital It was always losing money so, the hospital closed it. Wasn't the mountain's call.

I'll be interested to see if what we eventually start seeing is instead of Critical Access full service hospitals we see more Critical Access urgent care facilities with 24 hour ER and no overnight beds. It actually probably makes sense. It isn't ideal for patients as they will need to travel greater distances for more technical services. However from a financial and talent concentration stand point it makes sense.

There's obviously an explosion of growth in urgent care facilities, but they all seem to be privately financed and part of a franchise. I haven't seen any yet with a Critical Access designation funded by the government.

 

[darent]

doesn't Stratton have a Orthopedic Clinic? we had a O Doctor on Nantucket who vacationed at Stratton to ski and he worked in the clinic.

 

[1Kathleen]

WV clinic name

That surprises me. Speare memorial isn't very far from Waterville. I wonder what the clinical affiliation is for Waterville's facility. One thing to keep in mind is that NH is the only state in New England that doesn't require a license for an X-ray tech. Everywhere else does and it seems a bit silly for a ski area to employ an X-ray tech at $25/hr when they might fire up the machine 6 times a week. Even if Waterville has an ortho onsite, I highly doubt he's fixing broken legs right there. I also wonder how new that X-ray equipment is. A basic X-ray machine is going to set you back about $125K. That's not an investment I see most ski areas making considering how infrequently they will be used.

Can't recall who the bill came from but it was billed as and ER visit and was covered by my MA health insurance.

 

[deadheadskier]

How's your friend doing? Hope she has a very swift recovery.

 

[WoodCore]

doesn't Stratton have a Orthopedic Clinic? we had a O Doctor on Nantucket who vacationed at Stratton to ski and he worked in the clinic.

Yes! The Carlos Otis Clinic is a state of the art facility and just upgraded over the summer.

http://www.stratton.com/the-mountain/urgent-care.aspx

 

[delco714]

I would have my hospital fly me with life flight if I got injured and need extraction. Emmc Bangor

Also I dreamed of opening especially in winter a small clinic in CV.. Would've been nice

 

[1Kathleen]

How's your friend doing? Hope she has a very swift recovery.

Sorry, no health update. Lady was a friend of a friend. If she reads this thread I am sure she will appreciate the good wishes and the sympathies expressed. She went home on Friday and unfortunately is going to have to sit out the rest of the season. SL is going to provide her with a few days of vouchers to make up for her unused 4 day lift ticket. The rest of us had a great time and we got plenty of runs in.