The News-Herald: "Lake Health purchases lifesaving products for area schools"

High school football season is now in full swing with daily rigorous practices in the sweltering heat, and players loaded down with helmets and pads.

In recognition of the dangers that the heat can pose to student athletes, Lake Health announced that it has purchased 12 Polar Life Pods for each Lake County high school and college it works with. These schools include, Perry, Madison, Riverside, Painesville Harvey, Fairport, Andrews Osborne Academy, Kirtland, Eastlake North, Willoughby South, Wickliffe and Mentor, as well as Lakeland Community College.

A member of the Mentor High School cross country team
is covered in ice cold water during a demonstration of the
Polar Life Pod by Lake Health on Sept. 3rd. 

Polar Life Pods are portable immersion systems that facilitate the rapid cooling of athletes experiencing heat exhaustion, heat stress or heat stroke. The pods resemble a hooded sleeping bag in which an athlete experiencing heat stroke can be easily zipped up in and monitored. An athlete up to 7 feet tall and 400 pounds can be accommodated inside the pod. The Polar Life Pods cost $325 each.

This system is the first of its kind, invented by an athletic trainer from Dayton. The company, Polar Products Inc., is based in Cuyahoga Falls and creates many other cooling products, such as vests and neck wraps.

“In the past, there was no product designed for this purpose. They had to adapt big 300-gallon water troughs that had to be set up ahead of time,” said William Graessle, president of Polar Products Inc. “They’re quite a ways from that reservoir and the reservoir has to be kept really cold the whole practice, which is almost impossible to do. If that water is not ice cold, it can’t cool the athlete quickly.”

The polar pods only require 30 to 60 gallons of water, which are poured in after the athlete is inside the pod. This water can be kept in the same multigallon coolers that athletes drink from.

The pods contain a flotation pillow that allow the athlete to become complete immersed, while keeping their airways clear.

“It hyperextends the neck to keep the airways up high, while still allowing the bottom half of the head and the neck to be in the ice water, very key points for cooling the body,” Graessle said.

The Polar Products Inc. team emphasizes the idea of “cool first, transport second.” Graessle explains that from the time an athlete begins to show symptoms of heat stroke, there is a 15-20 minute window to get the athletes temperature down to 102 degrees. If that can’t be done, the athlete can suffer permanent injuries.

“Brain, heart and nerve damage,” John Smith, director of sports medicine for Lake Health said. “Brain, obviously being the worst, and that’s what goes first.”

John Smith, director of sports medicine for Lake Health,
with the Polar Life Pod® donated to Riverside's Athletic Department

Although heat stroke is considered “exceedingly rare” — there have been 11,000 cases of heat stroke in the past 10 years, said Mike Mockbee, senior product manager at Polar Products Inc. — it is also considered 100 percent preventable.

“The only thing that we keep saying is it’s a defibrillator type situation,” Graessle said. “Remember 10 years ago, you didn’t see defibrillators everywhere. Now, they’re everywhere. You hope to never have to use it and that’s kind of the approach here.”

Smith added that these systems are easily used by anyone who has had training with the pods. If an athletic trainer is not on the scene, a coach could easily begin cooling down an athlete suffering from heat stroke.

“It’s safer for the trainers, it’s safer for the athlete and it’s more convenient that you can bring it to all the fields you need,” Mockbee said.

Article and first picture from The News-Herald website: http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20150903/lake-health-purchases-lifesaving-products-for-area-schools

Second picture from Riverside Local Schools' website: http://www.painesville-township.k12.oh.us/protected/ArticleView.aspx?iid=533IU2&dasi=3U30

See the Polar Life Pod® on Channel 3 News, Cleveland

Lake Health provides Polar Life Pods to protect high school athletes 

MENTOR, Ohio -- Rigorous exercise in sweltering summer temperatures can make young athletes vulnerable to heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

To help protect athletes from potentially fatal heat dangers, Lake Health has purchased Polar Life Pods for all 12 high schools in Lake County.

Resembling a hooded sleeping bag, the Polar Life Pod is a portable, collapsible immersion system that facilitates the rapid cooling of athletes experiencing heat exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke.

"By purchasing these systems, we can protect young athletes from heat-related illness," said John Smith, director of sports medicine at Lake Health.

A heat stroke is a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body's capacity to dissipate heat is compromised and core temperature becomes dangerously high. Symptoms include hot and dry skin, lack of sweat, confusion, slurred speech, nausea and irrational behavior.

A heat stroke is 100 percent survivable when the affected person's temperature is brought under 102* degrees within 30 minutes of collapse.

Nearly every year there are reports of serious heat illness or sudden death in student-athletes during summer practices. Football players, outfitted with bulky pads and helmets, are especially susceptible to the effects of heat.

Polar Life Pod manufacturer Polar Products Inc. donated one system to the Lake Health Race Series and provided 12 cooling vests for athletes who are not in a heat emergency.

The company also allowed Lake Health to purchase the Polar Life Pods at a significant discount.

Research shows cold-water immersion is the most effective way to cool down athletes after strenuous activity or overexposure to the heat.

Previously, as part of Lake Health's Pools for Schools initiative, athletic trainers filled wading pools with cold water and placed them in a shady area close to the sideline. When necessary, football players could immerse themselves in the pools to cool off.

"The Polar Life Pods are an improvement over the pools we used because they are portable and can be set up quickly. Plus, they require only 30 to 60 gallons of water and enable us to fully immerse athletes up to seven feet tall and weighing up to 400 pounds," explained Smith.

According to Brian J. Juriga, co-medical director of sports medicine at Lake Health, even highly-conditioned athletes can become victims of heat stroke if they don't take special precautions when exercising in hot, humid weather.

"Heat stroke can be prevented in the first place through good policies. Athletes can protect themselves through adequate hydration, acclimatization when necessary, early practices and competitions and breathable clothing," said Dr. Juriga. "When they become overheated, cold-water immersion is lifesaving."

Article and video sources from WKYC's website: http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/lake-county/2015/09/02/lake-health-heat-stroke-polar-life-pods/71581910/

*Correction from article: the person's temperature must be brought down below 102 degrees, not 104 degrees. 

Learn more at www.polarlifepod.com

Polar in the News: Featured in ORToday Magazine!

We were honored to be featured in the March issue of ORToday magazine to announce the launch of our CoolOR® System, our circulating water cooling vest system designed specifically for cooling surgical staff in operating rooms.

Read the full article below:

This year, Polar Products is celebrating its 30th year as a family-owned business manufacturing a full line of body cooling systems and cold and hot therapy products.

 “Polar Products has grown and prospered due to our commitment to manufacturing innovative, high-quality products and by listening to our customers’ feedback to continually improve our products and service,” says William Graessle, President and CEO.

Their highly successful operating room and surgical cooling systems have recently been redesigned with new innovative features that deliver outstanding cooling benefits in operating rooms.

“We are excited to announce the product launch of Polar’s new CoolOR® System, a circulating water cooling vest unit designed specifically to meet the needs of surgeons and OR staff,” says Jacob Graessle, Vice President and Surgeon and OR Systems Specialist for Polar Products. “We’ve taken our best-selling Cool Flow® vest and updated the system specifications based on years of feedback from hospitals nationwide.”

CoolOR® System

“Our new CoolOR® System is a great example of Polar’s commitment to providing customers the finest body cooling and therapy systems available,” added Jacob. 

Polar Products recently moved into a new 20,000 square foot manufacturing facility located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Polar began manufacturing cold and hot therapy packs and therapy wraps in the early 1980s and expanded to body cooling systems in the late 1990s. Circulating water therapy and cooling systems like the CoolOR® System were developed in the 2000s. Today, Polar Products manufactures every type of cooling technology.

CoolOR® System

“We are so confident that medical professionals will prefer Polar Products’ cooling systems that we offer hospitals a free 30-day trial on any product we sell,” says Jacob. “If after 30 days the cooling system or product does not meet your needs, return it and pay only the return freight.”

A key feature of the new CoolOR® System is that electrical cords have been eliminated! The system is run on an efficient, convenient lithium-ion battery pack which provides increased portability and more than six hours of power. All of the electrical components are UL Listed. This, along with a wheeled cart and dry quick disconnect couplings, makes the CoolOR® System the most portable and flexible cooling vest system available for operating rooms worldwide.

Multiple styles of cooling vests allow the surgeon to choose his or her preference, which is an example of Polar Products’ focus on meeting the unique needs of each individual customer. 

Heavy-Duty Vest       Fitted Vest       Adjustable Vest

Polar Products currently offers three different vests styles for the CoolOR® System; with two new additional styles currently in development, Polar Products offers the most comprehensive line of OR cooling systems on the market.

Polar Products is a worldwide leader in manufacturing body cooling systems, with over 25 years of experience cooling people in diverse applications, including industrial safety, construction, emergency services, athletics and fitness, the military and people with medical heat-sensitivity.

Polar Products will also manufacture custom systems to meet unique needs, including multiple person cooling from a single system. In addition to providing cooling systems for OR staff, Polar Products has supplied systems for research studies to a wide variety of institutions such as American universities and hospitals, including Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc. at Harvard University, Vanderbilt University, University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas, University of Hawaii, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital. Polar Products has also supplied international universities and hospitals, including University of Roehampton in London, University of Copenhagen, and Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou in Paris.

You can personalize your vest with custom embroidery.

Polar Products is committed to ensuring complete customer satisfaction and long-term customer loyalty.

“We pride ourselves on our commitment to stand by our products unconditionally and to always do what is right,” says President William Graessle.

Polar Products also manufactures Active Ice® therapy systems for patients’ post-surgery pain relief. This easy-to-use circulating water cold therapy system offers comfortable, convenient and portable drug-free pain relief, includes a convenient 30 minute timer and is ideal for after surgery, when serious

pain relief is required.

Active Ice® Therapy System

For more information on Polar Products’ complete line of body cooling systems and hot and cold therapy products, visit www.polarproducts.com.