SANDY BRITT, an athletic trainer, stood with arms crossed, much like a sentry, as North Springs lost to Tucker, 63-0, in a high school football game in early November. A player’s toothache was the most serious thing Mr. Britt had to deal with in this game. Bruised egos were the responsibility of the coaches.
[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 };u4E\i zjCDsFG FroG]
[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 ?V$P7InCo7%1',FroG]
Behind Mr. Britt, North Springs Athletic Director Tommy Amoroso grimaced at another long run by Tucker. He was content in the knowledge that his North Springs players have a certified trainer at the ready.[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 @l{�M[U[`#!(9xFroG]
Mr. Amoroso pointed to a bright white banner with the logo of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a local nonprofit hospital, that stretched for 20 yards along a chain-link fence. “That’s how we can afford an athletic trainer like Sandy,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of deal it is for Children’s Healthcare, but it is a great deal for us.” [文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 y4brK! : SA:yR=u] FroG]
North Springs is one of many high schools around the country where concerned parents and administrators have been clamoring to add certified athletic trainers to playing fields and practice sessions to address injuries like concussions. What sets North Springs and a handful of others apart is that they have entered into novel, even unorthodox, arrangements with local hospitals, which provide trainers at a reduced cost in return for a school-based marketing campaign.[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 @s
i6b v}+
w~3n QG0FroG]
Children’s Healthcare provides athletic trainers for 11 other high schools in the Atlanta area, some that pay the full cost, and others that pay a combination of cash and in-kind marketing. Children’s partnered with its first high school seven years ago, but in the last year has started to ramp up efforts to attract more schools.[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 ge x2U2%$7T/j h@FroG]
North Springs, a public charter school in Atlanta, pays Children’s $3,200 for Mr. Britt to spend 20 hours a week watching over athletes in all sports. The service would typically cost $20,000, but North Springs uses banners, public service announcements and links to Children’s Healthcare on the school Web site to make up the difference. [文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 �^Ezgq"74aeTLlf9FroG]
Regulations against kickbacks and federal stipulations prevent Children’s from telling North Springs that it must send injured players to one of its three hospitals, but it is expected that coaches and parents will become familiar enough to seek care from Children’s. Patty Gregory, a spokeswoman, said that the trainers program is not a referral program and that the hospital doesn’t track the business generated by the alliance. [文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 ?NY?M_w& E=MSL M`FroG]
In interviews with athletic trainers and schools, private schools and larger public high schools said they could typically afford either a full- or part-time trainer.[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 w:un[QK 8{u?E: ' FroG]
Smaller public high schools and those in urban areas are the ones that must be creative. Schools and parents who participate in the Children’s Healthcare program say they welcome the hospital’s efforts. Todd Beck said his son Chris, a quarterback for Tucker High, a school in an unincorporated area northeast of Atlanta in DeKalb County, was treated by Matt Kicklighter, a trainer, after injuring his ankle and was playing later that week. “Parents are grateful for the support,” he said.[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 EY l0~ =^;
$h FroG]
Mr. Beck said parents do not feel obligated to take their business to Children’s. “I haven’t talked to anyone who is uncomfortable with this hospital’s presence at our games.”[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 KNG
}\O|9+tx!�kNa0lFroG]
The marketing program is one remedy to a nationwide dilemma. The National Athletic Trainers Association said 42 percent of all high schools have athletic trainers, including schools with a part-time trainer just for games. [文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 ~5e,J,!+kL J~c
J FroG]
“I had a kid drop out of a drill in practice, he was face down, and I didn’t know if it was heat-related, or what,” said Nick Collins, the head football coach at Newton High School in Covington, Ga., which is southeast of Atlanta in Newton County. His son is a wide receiver. “We have kids get hit in practice and we need someone there who is skilled enough to evaluate for a concussion.” Chuck Kimmel, the trainers association president, said the growth of high school athletics has made it imperative that schools provide professional care. “We have always said there should be athletic trainers in high schools,” he said, “but it seems like the message is getting traction now because there is more awareness of the issue and there have been more high-profile health-related troubles.”[文章来自:考试与评价 U|/WuQ4[R( d'v[kV=(E]
[文章版权 禁止转载:考试与评价 ^�A�TZ NdZ(' xE LFroG]
