Tag: Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association

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Few Oklahoma schools have athletic trainers, which could prove dangerous for student athletes

Article reposted from ABC 8 Tulsa
Author: Charles Ely


The Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association is conducting a campaign to improve the safety of high school athletes.

That group reports 9 percent of Oklahoma high schools have trainers on staff and less than 30 percent have access to a professional trainer.

They said that ranks us last in the U.S. where the average is almost 75 percent.

In Jenks, they have a full training staff and facilities. That district has made the investment because sports injuries can have long-term consequences if not handled properly.

Head athletic trainer Michael Catterson says that starts immediately after an injury takes places.

Catterson said, “In the case of broken bones, if they’re not splinted properly they can cause more damage. Concussion on the sidelines or cervical neck injuries, a lot of times in our profession we have to prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

He said those injuries that get fast and proper care tend to heal more quickly.

At peak times in Jenks, they can be treating 60 or 70 of 1,000 kids who take part in sports.

Since good care up front is crucial, this state’s trainers are pushing to get more help on the sidelines.

Darren Lunow is the president of the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association and he said schools have done it during the budget crisis.

Lunlow said, “They’ve filled some of their science or math teaching positions with athletic trainers. They’ve likewise brought athletic trainers in as risk management for their entire district. They’ve seen their liability insurance go down.”

There’s also a trade off in the fact that the more care the school provides the less it costs the parents.

Having care on campus is very efficient for everyone. It means fewer trips to a doctor’s office and more time with the books.

Catterson said, “They don’t have to miss school to get their therapeutic exercise. They can do it here during sixth hour or before school.”

Only about half the schools in the Tulsa metro have athletic trainers.

Lunlow said the farther you go from our big cities, the lower the number.

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Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association wins national award

Article reposted from The Claremore Daily Progress
Author: The Claremore Daily Progress

The Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association (OATA) has been announced as the recipient of the 2017 Public Advocacy Award by the Board of Certification (BOC). The BOC is the national credentialing agency for athletic trainers and also establishes both the standards of practice and continuing education requirements for the profession. The OATA won the award for their “Safety in Football Campaign” that ran in September of 2016. The campaign was designed with the goal of helping each and every football team in Oklahoma identify ways in which they can lessen the risks of injury and keep the focus on the fun and camaraderie of football.

This national honor is designed to recognize an individual, group, or organization who has demonstrated leadership in protecting athletic training consumers. In the words of Shannon Leftwich, BOC Director of Credentialing and Regulatory Affairs, “the ‘Safety in Football Campaign’ has been so important to protect the public and athletic training consumers. The time, commitment, and service {the OATA} have provided is immeasurable.”

The campaign ran from Sept. 6-17 and participation from 26 high schools from across the state and one university. Throughout the campaign, those schools self-promoted the measures they take every day to ensure safety in football. The schools also wore helmet stickers with the OATA Logo showing their support for the campaign. The campaign’s success resulted in several television, newspaper and online articles highlighting ways to increase safety for football players across the state. Governor Mary Fallin even issued a state-wide proclamation for the event.

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Walker inducted into OATA Hall of Fame

Article reposted from University of Tulsa
Author: University of Tulsa

Ron Walker, the associate dean of The University of Tulsa Oxley College of Health Sciences and clinical associate professor of athletic training, has been inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association (OATA) Hall of Fame. Admittance to the Hall of Fame is the highest honor a member of the organization can receive and is based upon his or her contributions to the profession of athletic training. “Being recognized by the OATA is truly an honor that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Obviously, I care deeply about the organization and all that it does. Many of the members of the Hall of Fame are mentors who have certainly influenced my career and it is humbling to join them,” said Walker.

Walker holds a doctorate in higher education from Oklahoma State University as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees from TU. He is a licensed and certified athletic trainer with 20 years of experience in injury/illness prevention, clinical evaluation and diagnosis, immediate and emergency care, therapeutic intervention/treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Prior to being named associate dean of the Oxley College of Health Sciences, Walker served as the director of the athletic training program at TU.

His service to the profession extends statewide serving as president and treasurer of the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association; treasurer of the Mid-America AT Association and chair of the finance committee; accreditation site visitor for the CAATE; and advisory panel member for the Board of Certification Regulatory Conference. Walker received the 2016 The University of Tulsa Outstanding Teacher Award, 2015 NATA’s Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and the 2012 NATA Athletic Training Service Award. He is well known for his work to establish policy that addresses health and safety issues in youth sports.

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Hurricane teams up with Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association to promote safety

Article reposted from TU Sports Extra
Author: Kelly Hines

Football is getting a bad rap. The University of Tulsa is working to change that.

The Golden Hurricane and its athletic training staff teamed up with the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association in promoting increased football safety within the state.

“None of us want to see football go away,” said Dave Polanski, TU’s director of sports medicine. “We’re all big promoters of the sport, and football does a lot of great things for people.

“Everybody is worried about injuries and concussions and this and that, leading to the decline in football. We’re just trying to say, ‘You can do it safely.’ ”

Gov. Mary Fallin signed a proclamation that made this week “Safety in Football Campaign Days,” the goal of which is to help teams identify how to lessen the risks of injury and keep focus on the positive aspects of football.

Thirteen high school players died last year across the country, including one in Oklahoma, prompting more parents to decide against having their kids play football. Polanski said most injuries can be prevented by teaching proper technique and safety can be improved with the assistance of athletic trainers.

The high school level is where most of the injuries occur, but only 9 percent of Oklahoma high schools have a full-time athletic trainer, Polanski said, while that figure is more than 60 percent in Texas.

As part of the campaign, TU and other participating schools will wear helmet stickers with the logo of the OATA for their games this week.

“Safety has always been foremost in our minds as coaches and as teachers and as men who have played this game,” Hurricane coach Philip Montgomery said. “Obviously, I have a son who plays this game.

“I worry about his safety just like I worry about my players’ safety. But the game of football, if done correctly, teaches a whole lot about life.”

Kelly Hines

918-581-8452

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Pair of Tulsa Men Inducted into Oklahoma Hall

Two men from the Tulsa area were among three recently inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame. Larry Egge of Eastern Oklahoma Orthopedic Center in Tulsa and Herb Rhea retired Director of Sports Medicine for Jenks Public
Schools were honored at a luncheon Saturday, May 21, on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Joining Egge and Rhea in the 14th class of inductees was Anita Clark, retired trainer for the University of Oklahoma.

Rhea retired in 2015 after 21 years with Jenks. Previously, he was Head Athletic Trainer for Enid Public Schools and Director of Sports Medicine for Ferrum College in Virginia.
Egge has been with EOOC for more than 25 years, serving as Athletic Trainer and Public Relations/Marketing Head. He spent three years in the 1980s with the Tulsa Roughnecks as Athletic Trainer.

The OATA Hall of Fame honor roll also includes Dr. George Mauerman of EOOC (2000 inductee), Scott McGonagle, former University of Tulsa trainer (2008), Rod Replogle, former Owasso Head Trainer (2010) and Glenn Smith, former Oral Roberts University
Head Trainer (2013).

The three 2016 honorees received plaques during the event, attended by some 200 guests, that highlighted the OATA two-day symposium and business meeting.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Larry Egge Headed to the Oklahoma Hall

Larry Egge, the charismatic face of Eastern Oklahoma Orthopedic Center for nearly three decades, was inducted Saturday into the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame.

EOOC’s current sports medicine coordinator has played a primary public relations role, attending and sponsoring hospitality for a wide variety of sporting events from the high school to professional level.

He is frequently EOOC’s first contact with coaches, athletes and administrators across Green Country.

“Larry has helped to not only grow, but likewise maintain, EOOC at the forefront of excellence in orthopedics and sports medicine in Tulsa,” an EOOC news release said.

Induction was during the OATA banquet at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Raised in Rapid City, South Carolina, Egge studied athletic training at the University of Arizona, served as a trainer at Wichita State University and worked for a time in the St. Louis Cardinals baseball organization.

In 1982, he arrived in Tulsa as an athletic trainer with the original Tulsa Roughnecks soccer franchise in the North American Soccer League.

Though he knew little about the sport, he learned quickly and remained with the club through its 1983 Soccer Bowl championship season and the demise of the NASL in 1985.

Egge joined EOOC in 1985 as a high school and college athletic trainer. In 1988, he began a three-year hiatus from EOOC to travel internationally promoting U.S.A. Soccer for a firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He rejoined EOOC in 1991.

Mike Brown 918-581-8390

mike.brown@tulsaworld.com

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Oklahoma athletic trainers hope to leverage message of ‘Concussion’ movie

CJ Fedor has treated many concussions.

Such is life as an athletic trainer.

But it’s not those kids who motivate him to do whatever he can to increase awareness and prevention of these brain injuries. Rather, it’s the kids who medical professionals like him might never have a chance to help.

“We can get better from concussions,” said Fedor, the sports medicine program manager at McBride Orthopedic Hospital and the president of the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association. “We can return athletes to play in most instances, and they can go on with their activities.”

But …

“We have to be aware of when concussions happen and take proper steps.”

Concussions are about to be front and center again. In the years since the NFL acknowledged many ex-players were suffering long-term and heart-rending effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), much has been done. Research has been increased. Protocols have been developed. Lawsuits have been filed.

Now, a movie chronicles the story of Dr. Bennett Omalu, the forensic pathologist who discovered the first case of CTE in former NFL players. “Concussion” explores how his research into the degenerative brain disorder changed sports forever.

Changed it for the better, too.

A movie that hits screens nationwide Christmas Day is already sparking debate and fueling conversation.

Fedor wants to be part of the solution. As the son of a school nurse and a firefighter, looking out the well-being of others is in Fedor’s blood. He became an athletic trainer because he wanted to help kids.

As the athletic trainer at Bishop McGuinness, his afternoons are a flurry of taped ankles and iced body parts. But Fedor knows most athletes in Oklahoma don’t see someone like him regularly if ever.

Two-thirds of high school athletes in our state don’t see a trainer on a weekly basis.

Worse, only about 13 percent of Oklahoma high schools have a full-time trainer. That’s the lowest of any state the nation and far below the highest, Pennsylvania’s 90 percent.

Working with Concussion Connection, a national group with local ties in Oklahoman and co-founder Lauren Long, Fedor and the trainers association want to be a backstop for kids who don’t have a trainer. They pushed state legislation requiring an athlete who suffers a concussion be removed from the game and not allowed to play until cleared by a medical professional. When it passed in 2010, only eight other states had similar legislation.

Fedor, Long and their groups believe it’s time for an update. The science and technology around concussions has changed dramatically, so they are in the beginning stages of drafting new legislation for the Oklahoma House and Senate to consider. After legislation with specific requirements for players, trainers, coaches and administrators regarding concussion management and treatment was defeated a year ago, Fedor said they hadn’t planned another attempt so soon.

“Concussion” changed that.

“It’s probably not the best time,” Fedor said of trying to get a bill passed in this next legislative cycle, “but knowing that the ‘Concussion’ movie was coming out … it’s brought a heightened awareness.”

Fedor hopes a panel discussion after a special screening of the movie Thursday night in Moore inspires future plans. The slate is wide open when it comes to what kind of legislation will be crafted. It could focus on a protocol once an athlete suffers a concussion. It could center on regulations for youth sports below the high school level. It could address concussed students’ eventual return to the classroom and concerns that they are often sent back to school before their brain is healed.

Regardless of what comes of the discussion or the legislation, there is one thing of which Fedor is sure.

“The safety of student-athletes,” he said, “is what we’re advocating.”

The safety of those he cares for and those no one does.

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at (405) 475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://newsok.com/article/5467005

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Ringer and Anderson inducted into OATA Hall of Fame

The Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association recently inducted two members to its 2015 Hall of Fame Class. Sydney Ringer of Oklahoma Christian University and Scott Anderson of the University of Oklahoma are this year’s honorees.

Ringer is the head athletic trainer for Oklahoma Christian University as well as a preceptor for the Athletic Training Education Program at The University of Central Oklahoma. As an athletic trainer in Oklahoma, Sydney has served the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association for more than 20 years. She is a past member of the OATA executive committee serving in the office of secretary, vice president and president from 1996-2002.

Ringer has continued to serve the OATA as its scholarship committee chair for the past 10 years. On a national level, she served on the NATA women in athletic training committee from 1999-2003.

Anderson is a clinical instructor and the head athletic trainer for the University of Oklahoma. He was one of the few that worked diligently to establish the Oklahoma Athletic Training Practice Act in 1981. This document continues to provide for the governance and the growth of not only the profession of athletic training in Oklahoma, but it also serves the expanding scope of practice of today’s athletic training clinician.

Anderson has worked for decades to improve health and safety in sport on a national level as well. He is the current president of the College Athletic Trainers’ Society and was the co-chair of the NATA’s Task Force for Sickle Cell Trait in Athletes.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

http://www.edmondsun.com/news/oc-s-ringer-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/article_9ab59b6e-316f-11e5-97bc-3f0bc68d548e.html