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Fort HealthCare's Sport & Therapy Celebrates Athletic Trainers Month

Community Health
Tuesday, March 6, 2018

“Compassionate Care for All” is the theme for this year’s National Athletic Training Month, which is sponsored by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA), a not-for-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas.

Fort HealthCare currently employs six Athletic Trainers who assist athletes at four area high schools. The school and athletic trainers are as follows:

  • Julia Neppl, PT/LAT – Lakeside Lutheran High School
  • Kimberly Beggs, LAT – Fort Atkinson High School
  • Brian Meitner, LAT – Cambridge High School
  • Stephanie Hayes, LAT – Palmyra-Eagle High School
  • Jessica Mirek, PT/LAT – on-call/backup
  • Sara Moldenhauer, LAT – on-call/backup

Working to prevent and treat musculoskeletal injuries and sports-related illnesses, athletic trainers offer a continuum of care unparalleled in health care. Athletic Trainers are part of a team of health care professionals – they practice under the direction and in collaboration with physicians. Athletic Trainers work with those individuals who are physically active or involved in sports participation through all stages of life to prevent, treat and rehabilitate injuries and medical conditions. Handling injuries at school or at work, rather than sending the patient to the emergency department, saves money and time loss – and gets them back to their activity faster. Just as professional athletes do, school age and recreational athletes should have access to athletic trainers.

In order to celebrate Athletic Trainer Month, Fort HealthCare Therapy & Sport center is offering a free walk-in clinic for a brief consultation by an Athletic Trainer, any Friday morning during March from 10am-12pm. The evaluation does not include any diagnostic testing such as x-rays. For more information, please call Brian Meitner at (920) 568-6562.

During Athletic Trainers Month, Brian Meitner, LAT, USGTF will be having two, 4-week golf classes on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s. Check the Fort HealthCare website for availability and to sign up. Additionally, any youth baseball or softball organization that would like to have a Licensed Athletic Trainer come and speak to their organization of athletes or coaches in preparation for the upcoming spring/summer sports seasons on the topic of avoiding throwing injuries to the elbow or shoulder during the season, can contact Brian Meitner at (920) 568-6562.

Fort HealthCare’s Sport & Therapy staff encourages the community to call the Sports Medicine information line if you have specific questions about an injury or specific conditioning programs at (920) 568-6562 and during the month of March, Sport & Therapy will offer a free half hour time to sit down with you and discuss any questions or concerns face to face. “Don’t rely on the internet, speak to a professional.” You can also call the information line to inquire about additional programming Fort HealthCare’s Athletic Trainers offer such as the “Get n Fit” and “Performance Enhancement” programs.

Fort HealthCare’s Sport & Therapy Athletic Trainer’s would like you to celebrate National Athletic Training Month this March by following these important tips:

  • Before participating, see your physician for a physical exam
  • Always make sure there is an emergency plan in place
  • During exercise, drink to thirst or based on individual needs depending on sweat rate
  • Avoid tobacco, alcohol and other harmful drugs
  • Have access to an Athletic Trainer who provides compassionate care for all

Fort HealthCare is committed to improving the health and well-being of our communities, with a vision to be the healthiest community in Wisconsin. As the leading healthcare provider in the region, it is our goal to reach as many members of the community as possible with health and wellness messages, providing tools and resources to help individuals improve their health and quality of life, while collaborating with several partners to positively improve the population’s health overall on a long term basis. For more information, visit FortHealthCare.com