Supporting FIFA World Cup 26™ Kansas City

Bryan Beaver, MD

We're expecting somewhere during that over the course of the six weeks of the World Cup, to have somewhere around 650,000 visitors that we're very excited to host here in Kansas City.

We're expecting somewhere around a 6 to 8% increase in healthcare utilization. Now, the good news for us is most of that we would expect to be minor illness and injury is what we'll be looking at and what we're preparing for. We have had a team working just on the health and medical aspects of preparing for the World Cup and hosting all these visitors for well over a year now. And that team has incorporated hospitals, health systems all across the region. Our EMS partners, our public health partners, our community partners. We've had everybody at the table to make sure that we are well prepared to take care of those 650,000 visitors that are going to be coming in, but also ensure that we have everything in place to continue to provide the world-class care that we do every day to our residents who call Kansas City home.

For folks coming in that might not know the difference between an urgent care and emergency department, or they may mean something different in other countries, we're really trying to help them know when to access care, how to access that care, how to get to the right place. And then our other pieces, some of our friends that will be coming to visit us may not be from areas that are quite as warm as Kansas City can get in June and July. So we're also doing a lot of messaging around heat illness.

Lisa Vopat, MD
I'm Doctor Lisa Vopat. I'm a primary care sports medicine physician with The University of Kansas Health System. We're going to answer some questions today about how to get athletes ready for the world's game. They really need to prioritize the capacity to recover. The tournament's a long one; games are frequent or every 3 to 4 days, and there's a lot of travel. So there's a short timeframe between matches where they have to optimize their nutrition, their sleep, their hydration, soft tissue work and their load management training. With back-to-back matches you really have to prioritize nutrition. There's not a lot of recovery time between the games, so players have to get in adequate levels of carbohydrates to replete their glycogen stores. They have to recover by taking in enough protein to give their body the building blocks of recovery, and then optimize getting hydration back in to enough food and electrolytes.

I think it's so exciting to be able to showcase Kansas City as a great sports town with an amazing soccer culture. I think it's great to be able to show everyone Midwestern hospitality and put ourselves on a global stage, and then have a chance for Kansas Citians, along with all of the visitors coming, to rally around teams and celebrate together.

Paul Schroeppel
Hi, I am Paul Schroeppel, orthopedic surgeon with The University of Kansas Health System and head orthopedic surgeon for the Kansas City Chiefs. Usually we're taking care of American football players, but today we're going to deal with the other football. Continue to do the things that got you to that match. Continue to hydrate, continue to do your soft tissue work. Continue to make sure you get your macronutrients, and make sure you're taking in the fuel you need to perform. Continue to find ways to maximize your mental health and wellness.

I think there's a lot of similarities, honestly. This is a tournament that these players have prepared for for the majority of their life. You're doing all of those things that you have to to get to this point. You know, it's managing the anxiety and the, I guess, the degree of expectation there, too. That's where mental health and wellness, I think, is really important. Making sure you can find ways to not get too high and continue to maintain your focus, and remember that it is just another game. It's a very important game, but it's still just another game.

You guys got any pointers? Ah, there we go.

Do I think Kansas City's been fortunate to see a lot of big games in numerous sports? But I think this is a generational opportunity to see something that we don't frequently get to see in Kansas City. You know, I think this is one of the biggest sports in the world and the biggest stage of that biggest sport. I think it's something the city is going to embrace, and I think it's going to be great for this town.