The Westview News

Press Release
Athletic Trainers Take the Field
Date
October 29, 2014

Westview Health Care Center’s outpatient sports medicine department recently added two athletic trainers to complement their skilled outpatient Sports Medicine team.

The professional athletic trainers are contracted with local public and private schools to provide medical services for games and practices during their athletic season for acute and chronic orthopedic injuries; concussion recognition and management; and preventive measures to help decrease injury rate and protect the athlete.

They collaborate with school nurses; physicians; and local orthopedics and physical therapy offices to optimize patient activity and participation in athletics, work and life.

Westview identified that an area of focus that has been making headlines has been concussion recognition and management due to the rising number of sports-related concussions. Mild traumatic brain injuries are commonly seen in athletes who compete in sports.

Historically, due to the lack of outward signs and symptoms of a concussion an athlete would continue to compete without anyone recognizing that he or she was injured. Athletes who sustained concussions and did not lose consciousness were returned to play as soon as their symptoms resolved, oftentimes on the same day of the initial injury.

However in the wake of recent scientific evidence-based research and the pro-longed challenges associated with these injuries, it has changed the way sports medicine professionals diagnose, treat, and manage an athlete with a concussion.

“It is best practice to gather pre-season baseline cognitive data using scientifically and clinically validated concussion assessment tools on all athletes participating in sports”, stated Westview Athletic Trainer Mike Taylor. “This information is extremely important for making an accurate diagnosis of concussion at the time of injury as well as making appropriate decisions to gradually return the athlete safely to sport. Our future intention is to establish a concussion clinic in the northeast corner in order to provide better concussion management for athletes of all ages.”

“The students have a great rapport with the two athletic trainers and they completely trust their expertise and judgment”, stated Tourtellotte Memorial High School Athletic Director Deb Spinelli. “It brings us a great sense of peace to have them out on the field to evaluate and treat our athletes on the spot and keep a close eye on them throughout the season to keep them in good health.”

Along with the importance of concussion recognition, the athletic trainers are involved with planning and implementing comprehensive programs to prevent musculoskeletal injuries, applying protective or injury-protective devices such as tape, bandages and braces; evaluating and triaging emergent and acute injuries; strength training and conditioning; and injury education.

Athletic Trainer Mike Cerasoli stated, “We are very proud to provide immediate, quality health care services, and educate students about safe exercise regimes, along with proper nutrition, all of which will help the students maintain their health throughout their lives.”

Westview Health Care Center is a 103-bed skilled nursing inpatient facility, which includes a distinct and self-contained 28-bed subacute short-term rehabilitation unit and an Outpatient Rehabilitation and Aquatic Center, both dedicated to providing quality health care services. Along with garnering a perfect five star overall rating found on Medicare.gov Westview is proud to have received such accolades as US News and World Report America’s Best, Consumer Reports Top 10 Connecticut Nursing Facility rating and Health Grades 5-Star Top Ranking.