Updating Emergency Action Plans at a Secondary School to Align With Best Practice: A Quality Improvement Project

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association emphasizes the importance of emergency action plans (EAPs) in managing catastrophic injuries, yet compliance remains inconsistent in secondary schools. This clinical commentary describes a quality improvement framework implemented to improve compliance with EAP recommendations outlined in the 2024 National Athletic Trainers’ Association position statement in a South Carolina secondary school. The project increased compliance from 80.7% to 92.3% for the existing eight venue-specific EAPs and identified time constraints and emergency medical services collaboration as ongoing challenges. Additionally, 11 new sport-specific EAPs were developed. This framework offers a replicable model to enhance emergency preparedness across secondary schools nationwide.