With school back in session, fall sports are in full swing with many student-athletes in Athens and surrounding counties practicing and competing in high, often dangerous, temperatures. To help keep those student-athletes safe, the Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation recently provided a Kestrel 5400 HST Heat Stress Tracker, Weather & WBGT meter to all 12 Piedmont Athens sports medicine athletic trainers serving in high school athletic departments across the region. The device is designed to monitor and “detect unsafe heat-related conditions.”

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) has issued statewide policy to address playing sports when it is extremely hot and/or humid. The GHSA requires reading of the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to be utilized to determine safe playing conditions with readings taken and reported to coaches and staff at specified intervals before and during practice and competition.

The Krestel 5400 HST meter provides continuous monitoring and reports conditions to athletic training staff via Bluetooth to their phones or tablets. Trainers are able to monitor the WBGT and alert coaches and staff to unsafe conditions resulting from high temperatures.

According to the National Weather Service, the WBGT “is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover.” Instruments like the ones gifted by the Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation are used by the military, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other governing bodies to manage and regulate work taking place in direct sunlight.

Through the generous support of donors, the Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation is able to provide equipment and programs that benefit the communities the hospital serves. The Foundation is proud to support the next generation of student-athletes by providing equipment that ensures players are being monitored for safety.

If you are interested in supporting the Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation, please visit piedmontathensgive.org.