Bonnaroo medical calls lowest in 16-year-old festival's history

Natalie Neysa Alund | The Tennessean

The number of medical calls at at this year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was the lowest in the 16-year-old festival's history, Coffee County Emergency Medical Service officials said Monday.

Paramedics and medical staff transported 30 festival-goers to area hospitals, including four who were taken by helicopter, during the four-day event, said Michael Bonner, the county's EMS director. As of late Monday, no deaths were reported.

"We treated fewer people than last year, and that’s always good news," Bonnaroo medical director Carl Monzo said.

Bonner said the four taken by air include a woman who suffered a seizure early Monday morning and was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Two others transported by air also went to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and one went to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga.

The first patient transported out of the four-day outdoor music festival was a male and was flown out Friday to Vanderbilt after suffering a head injury from a fall.

Early Saturday morning another male who suffered an abdominal injury from a fall was transported to Erlanger. Then late Saturday afternoon, a woman was flown to Vanderbilt to be treated for intoxication.

The remaining 30 medical transportation calls were for a variety of issues including heat exhaustion, significant cuts and chest pains.

One male suffered a dog bite after he ran from a police dog and refused law enforcement's commands to stop running, Bonner said.

Along with blisters, sunburn and dehydration are among the most common medical issues that come up during the festival, though temperatures were generally milder this year, with cool evenings.

Last year, paramedics transported 38 people by ambulance and two people by helicopter. The number also marked the also lowest in the history of Bonnaroo.

"It was a calm year. We're very happy," Bonner said. "We had no deaths. The nature of the calls were more normal this year. Things like 'My belly's hurting (or) I've got something in my eye.'"

Authorities said the yearly average is about 50 transports but in some prior years medical workers have transported an excess of 100.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072 and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.