MEDICAL CONCERNS AT INFORMA EVENTS

Most Informa events are held at convention centers and hotels in cities and towns with urban settings which includes hospitals and clinics close by. Ambulance and emergency room services are generally minutes away. During events Informa normally contracts out with the venue to for a medical station on or near the exhibit floor staffed by EMTs and nurses with emergency medical supplies and equipment. The medical staff number varies with the size of the event as does some of the equipment. With some events there is an ambulance stationed at the venue. Medical staff are usually on-site during the last day of move in and during the event hours but not present overnight.

Venues generally have first aid kits and a security team trained in first aid. Certain members of the security team are trained in the use of Automated External Defibrillators. The first aid kits are required to include supplies as specified in OSHA Standard 1910.266 App A. The quantity of supplies varies depending on the size of the venue and business operation. GSCs, EACs and contractors hired by Informa such as the electric or cleaning contractor and others who work through the night are also required to also carry a first aid kit in accordance with OSHA regulations. Rendering first aid depends on the seriousness and urgency of the situation. Difficult first aid situations such as CPR or handling and cleaning up blood should be handled by those who are trained.

High temperatures and humidity is a common condition for the move in periods of Informa events during the summer. High temperatures above 100 degrees with low humidity is a common condition through a much longer period of the year at desert located venues in the Southwest. Working in both conditions poses a risk of heat stroke (the most serious heat-related health problem) and heat exhaustion. For venues, operating large air conditioning systems in full during an event move in is extremely expensive and often impractical because a large fraction of the building perimeter is left exposed due to open freight doors. Informa managers and GSCs should anticipate this problem and follow this discipline below:

• Designate a Person to Oversee the Heat Stress Program
• Keep Informa employees, contractors and exhibitors well informed of the health risk and ways to reduce the risk
• When 90 degrees or above, create settings on the exhibit hall floor where workers and exhibitors can obtain fresh water, rest and cool off with a fan
• Contractors can modify their work schedules where the most physically taxing tasks are scheduled for times of the day when it is cooler outside
• Informa managers and GSC and other contractor management and supervision should be trained on how to recognize the onset and early symptoms of heat exhaustion.

Convention centers and hotels both have large commercial food preparation facilities with trained staff. These operations are regulated by municipal Health Departments and the food service operation must obtain a permit in order to operate. The facilities are also subject to scheduled and random health inspections. As a routine procedure Informa staff should be aware of and immediately act upon complaints by exhibitors and attendees about food that has the odor, taste and appearance of being spoiled and any complaint regarding unsanitary conditions in food service areas or unsanitary actions by food service employees. If Informa event managers are concerned about poor sanitary conditions they can demand a snap Health Dept. inspection before their event.

Another food safety concern is proposed preparation, cooking and dispensing of food from exhibit booths including sampling. Normally this is discussed by Informa with the venue during the early planning stages of the event. For exhibitors, Informa’s approval is required in writing for such activities. Some convention centers will require exhibitors to fill out an Application for Food Preparation within Exhibits form and submit it to the convention center and in-house caterer. Some municipal Health Departments may require event management to file a separate application for events with a large amount of exhibitors partaking in cooking and sampling foods. In this instance Informa will provide an exhibitor list of all exhibitors cooking and handling food samples. The Health Inspectors will walk the floor and inspect those exhibit booths.