New partnership benefits young athletes

      The health and welfare of high school athletes is the top priority of a new partnership between the Clark County School District, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and HealthSouth to provide part-time, on-campus athletic trainers at area high schools.
      The program provides athletic training services to all high school athletes, including preventative care and rehabilitation of all injuries incurred during high school athletic events.
      All participating schools receive services from a certified athletic trainer for a minimum of 20 hours per week. HealthSouth provides services to Sunset Division schools, while Sunrise treats those in the Sunrise Division.
      A pair of private schools -- Bishop Gorman and The Meadows -- entered similar agreements with Sunrise and HealthSouth, respectively.
      "I think it's been very positive," said Larry McKay, athletics director for the district. "There was some initial concern that there were no ambulances at (football) sites, but I think so far it's been a plus."
      Funding for the program was set up in thirds between the two health entities and McKay's office. To pay for the district's share, ambulances are no longer present at football games.
      One school, however, opted to pay for an ambulance out of its own budget.
      "Having a trainer there all the time is better than having an ambulance just sitting there," said Jerry Hughes, executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. "There is no question it is a great program. ... What they are doing in Southern Nevada is 100 percent improvement from what it had."
      Feedback from athletic administrators has been, for the most part, positive. Much of the concern was regarding supply costs, which McKay asked everyone to keep track of throughout the year for discussion in May.
      Andre Denson, athletic administrator at Cimarron-Memorial, said his initial concern with the program was how trainers would squeeze part-time hours into each team's schedule.
      "The amazing part is the coaches are really working together to utilize that 20-25 hours," Denson said. "My concern was how we were going to have one trainer address all sports and the needs of the different athletes. What's happened is the coaches have just really come together."
      Cimarron tennis coach Jayne Tolman agreed, saying she has utilized the school's trainer on a number of occasions.
      "I think it is important for someone to be there, on campus, in case of emergency," she said. "You probably see more injuries in football and it would probably be different if I saw more injuries (with my team), but when I've needed them, they've been there."
      Apparently, that's not the case at several other schools.
      Various Southern Conference coaches expressed their concerns, saying sports other than football haven't received equal time at their schools.
      "I thought it would be great because in soccer there are always injuries, but I still haven't seen him," said Debbie Antonio-Hunt, coach of Bonanza High's soccer team. "Unless I don't know who he is, I haven't seen an athletic trainer out on my field at all. I have had injuries during games and haven't seen any trainers run onto the field ... and I haven't had any trainers come up and ask if any of my players need to be taped."
      Antonio-Hunt, however, has been on maternity leave and may not have seen the trainer tape soccer players prior to her arriving for matches.
      "The trainers know when our home games are, but right now it is up to the coaches to request a trainer's (presence at games," Bonanza athletic administrator Kim Grytdahl said. "He has set hours and if any coaches have any injuries, they're supposed to send them to the trainer."
      McKay said it is a situation each school's athletic administration must address with their coaches and trainers.
      In most schools, it's the athletic administrator and/or athletic director who allocates training hours for each team.
      "You just have to stay on top of things," said Tonya Dewey, athletic trainer for The Meadows. "The athletic trainer is the liaison between the coaches, students, parents and physician. ... You have to make sure volleyball, tennis and soccer players are doing OK too.
      "The athletic director utilizes my time within the school with what he thinks is pertinent. He knows I'm there for 20 hours and the most important things he thinks I should be at -- I am at."
      Cheyenne volleyball coach Karen Brown said she hasn't had to specifically request a trainer but "the time she's needed to send girls to him, he is in his office." At Cheyenne, she added, coaches know the trainer's location at all times.
      "He is pretty good about making himself available," Brown said. "It depends on the school, I think. And at our school all the teams are treated as equal as possible."
      Said McKay: "It's an internal thing, something that has to be worked out with their administrators. I wish we had more than 20 hours to work with."
      The availability solution appears to be obvious -- adding more hours. Through September, HealthSouth has written more than 570 injury reports on athletes who may need physician involvement.
      "It has been interesting, the number of young people we are seeing on a regular basis," said Jim Porter, regional outreach coordinator for HealthSouth. "It may be taping an ankle or evaluating an injury, we're running about five to seven injuries that require medical attention."
      Knowing how athletic trainers respond, Porter said he anticipated the need for extra hours at each school. So, HealthSouth's trainers are paid separately for attending football games.
      Steve McCauley, manager of the Sunrise Athletic Program, didn't have a total number of reports available, but said there haven't been as many reported injuries as HealthSouth.
      "As far as my experience goes in high school athletics, the number of injuries that we're seeing has not increased," McCauley said. "I believe we're seeing those injuries because we have a professional there 20 hours a week."
      McCauley said Sunrise does not have an incentive program for extra hours, but "some schools have paid out of their own budget" for extra time.
      "Other schools feel very comfortable with whatever schemes they have," he said. "There is a 20-hour a week base, but if the school has resources to compensate, then that trainer is free to fulfill whatever needs that school had."
      Budgets for the two health entities' programs is roughly $160,000.
      "Our goal at Sunrise is to create a protective environment for young athletes so they can enjoy and participate in athletic programs with some security of being trained and use their bodies correctly and take care of themselves," said Ann Lynch, vice president of community services for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. "It's a statement that we care about the athletes in the school district."
      An option McKay is looking into for next year is to include UNLV with the training program, by utilizing its undergraduate and graduate-level people for training.