NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Thanks to cooler temperatures the whirlwind of concerts and events at this year's CMA Music Festival were even more of a success than last year according to medical experts.
Vanderbilt officials tell us they treated 800 people for health issues at this year's festival. That's almost one-half of last year's number of 1500 people treated. It was thanks in part to the relatively cooler weather and lots of proactive planning. Organizers had more free water available this year, along with more misting tents and more first aid stations. One of those first aid tents was even air conditioned.
"We saw a variety of medical conditions, including cardiac conditions, pregnancy issues, and fractures. Same type of events you would see in any city, any small city. CMA, when the people gather together at the CMA Festival, it's like a city within a city, so you're going to see a variety of conditions. But the heat exhaustion is definitely lower than in years past," said Leigh Sims with Vanderbilt Life Flight.
About 70 % of the people treated this year were for heat-related issues. Vanderbilt said out of the 800, they only had to take 14 people to the hospital.
