There's an entire team of people heading out to Arrowhead this Sunday, but they aren't there to cheer on the Chiefs.
"We have blankets for you, we have warm IV fluids, but we don't want to get to that point where we need to do that," said Thu Janes, the assistant director of nursing at the University of Kansas Hospital.
Instead University of Kansas Hospital medical professionals will use the seven first aid centers within the stadium to treat fans who need their help. As the coordinator of first aid staff for games at Arrowhead, Janes will be among them.
"We see folks who basically need Chapstick all the way up to getting them assessed and triaged for transfer to the emergency room," she explained.
At the last home game against the Oakland Raiders, the medical teams treated one person for hypothermia, and about a quarter of everyone who needed their help was drunk, which medical professionals say is a dangerous combination with sub-freezing temps.
"People think alcohol makes you warm and it really doesn't," said Janes. "It makes the blood vessels dilate so it makes the blood flow quicker and opens up blood vessels."
Which means you may feel warm, even though your body temperature is actually falling.
So bundle up if you're heading out to the Chiefs game. And remember, children need one more layer than adults, so if you have two layers, your kid needs three.
"Dress the kids. I've seen so many kids out there that are not properly dressed," Janes said. "The parents don't think about it and the kids don't know what they don't know so just layer up."
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
