Tanner Health is now providing full-time athletic trainers at each of the county’s five high schools under a new agreement with the Carroll County School System.
The new cost-sharing agreement integrates the school athletic trainers into Tanner Rehab and Performance, expanding on a program previously offered through another provider.
Full-time athletic trainers embedded in each high school provide coverage of practices and games. Each athletic trainer functions like a member of the high school athletic staff, covering sport practices every day, holding training room hours throughout the day and covering all contact varsity-level games both home and away.
Through the contract, Tanner also will provide concussion baseline and evaluation services available to student athletes through its sports medicine program.
““We are extremely grateful to Tanner Health for their decades of support to our community, and we are very pleased to be able to expand sports medicine care for our student athletes through this partnership,” Superintendent Scott Cowart said. “All our athletes deserve high-quality sports medicine care, and this new agreement provides for ongoing care from a professional athletic trainer who will not only treat injuries, but teach our athletes and coaches correct techniques to prevent injury in the first place.”
Certified athletic trainers are multi-skilled healthcare professionals who work with coaches and students on injury prevention, injury care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and wellness education. Athletic training is recognized by the American Medical Association as a healthcare profession, and athletic trainers are certified by the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer.
“At Tanner Rehab and Performance, we want to support our area schools in impactful and qualitative ways,” said Josh Drummond, DPT, ATC/L, MHA, FACHE, system director of Rehabilitation Services at Tanner. “As an athletic trainer and physical therapist myself, I know the impact that high quality sports medicine has in helping student-athletes do what they love to do, and getting back to those activities when they have injuries or setbacks.”
Orthowest provides physician coverage in partnership with Tanner’s sports medicine program, and schools will notice both logos in athletic training rooms and sideline tents used by trainers.
Athletic trainers are already working at each high school, Drummond said, coordinating with coaches, assisting in the weight room and attending athletic practices and games to prevent, diagnose and treat injury.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to partner with Carroll County Schools to ensure access to exceptional athletic training services for student athletes across the district,” Drummond said. “Those athletic trainers will be part of an incredible health system in Tanner Health and integrated with an incredible group of orthopedic providers in Orthowest.”
Photo: Carroll County Schools student athletes now have access to full-time athletic trainers provided through a partnership with Tanner Health. OJ Dunbar LAT, ATC serves Villa Rica High School. Kyle Huff, LAT, ATC serves Bowdon High School. Derek Gibbs, LAT, ATC serves Central High School and is the Tanner Sports Medicine Manager. Shelby Byess, LAT, ATC serves Temple High School. Kristen Shadrix, LAT, ATC serves Mount Zion High School.