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Colorado Athletic Trainers' Association |
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cata newsletter winter 2005
EXCELLENCE IN COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC TRAINING PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR 2005 CATA SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED CATA Teams Up With 9Health Fair
CATA Professional Liaison Committee CHSAA Sports Medicine Committee Corporate Sponsorship Committee Student Athletic Trainers Committee College/University Athletic Trainers Committee
Hello all,
I hope this newsletter finds you and yours well. It has been a very busy fall season for all of us. As you can see by the great length of this winter 2004 newsletter quite a lot has been going on in the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA). OUR association is very lucky to have many dedicated individuals who graciously donate their time and efforts to the advancement of athletic training in Colorado. WE are all very much in-debt to them for their work.
I would like to thank each and every member of OUR association who has contributed to the efforts detailed below. I would ask that you please read ALL the reports and articles, as there is a great deal of very important and pertinent information enclosed. If you have any questions, comments, and concerns or would like to assist on any committee or special effort please feel free to contact myself or any board member.
Have a great and safe holiday season.
Sincerely Chris Mathewson, President Colorado Athletic Trainers Association
EXCELLENCE IN COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC TRAINING
I am extremely happy to announce the second year or our award for Excellence in Colorado High School Athletic Training. We were able to identify two excellent programs last year in Grandview High School and Overland High School, and I am looking forward to choosing two more programs for this season. We have changed the process to an application process rather than a nominating procedure so everyone at the high school level should apply for the awards. We have added extra funding this year, thus allowing us to increase the award from $1000 each to $1500 each, with the other 2 finalist receiving $250 each for their respective programs. I am also very excited to announce the addition of a second portion of the program which is for the high school student athletic trainers. We will be awarding 10 $200 prizes to student athletic trainers who submit the best essays pertaining to athletic training topics. This money is to be used for attending summer student athletic training workshops at our state’s NATA Curriculum Accredited universities. I hope all individuals involved with athletic training in our state’s high schools will get involved with this program so we can all work together to improve our high school athletic training programs and give students a chance to pursue a career in athletic training. You can find specific information and application forms for both phases of the program on the CATA Website www.rmata.org/cata and the Denver Nuggets Website www.denvernuggets.com or you can e-mail me at jgillen@pepsicenter.com. Please adhere to the deadlines and good luck to all.
Good Luck, Jim Gillen, Head Athletic Trainer, Denver Nuggets
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR 2005 CATA SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED
The CATA Annual Members Meeting and Clinical Symposium is scheduled for March 19-20, 2005 at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Sessions and meetings will be conducted in Gunter Hall. Registration will start promptly at 12 N on Saturday.
A number of speakers are scheduled to present on many relevant topics, including: · LIME Team Presentation · Foot and Ankle Pathology · Heat Illness · Shoulder Injuries · Hand and Wrist Injuries
The CATA Business meeting will be conducted on Sunday, March 20, 2005.
Please check back to the website for more information regarding this very important state meeting! Also, look for a special edition newsletter in early 2005 with more details about the symposium.
Colorado Athletic Trainers’ Association Teams Up With 9Health Fair
9Health Fair is pleased to announce that CATA has been accepted as a 2005 9Health Fair Associate. So what does this mean to CATA’s 400 + members? This means that 9Health Fair, and its 18,000 volunteers, will have access to CATA’s medical, prevention and wellness expertise to help provide professional health screenings at many of 9Health Fair‘s 168 statewide sites.
For the past 25 years, 9Health Fair has valued its close relationships with the medical community. Not only do our Associates advise 9Health Fair on current medical trends, but our Associates also help us write medical protocols and develop pilot screenings that address today’s most critical public health issues, such as diabetes. Without our Associates, 9Health Fair would not enjoy endorsements from the Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Nurses Association and support from the Colorado Health and Hospital Association.
9Health Fair’s sole mission is to promote health awareness and to encourage individuals to assume responsibility for their own health. In 2004, 9Health Fair delivered early detection and prevention health screenings to 90,000 individuals. Since 1980, 9Health Fair has served over 1.5 million Coloradans.
9Health Fair wants to thank CATA for its support. We look forward to teaming up with you during the nine days of the 2005 9Health Fair, which is scheduled April 16-24. For more information, please visit our website at www.9healthfair.org.
Just an update…the first two Town Hall Meetings are complete and we had great feedback. The meetings took place on Monday, November 8th in Colorado Springs with 30 attendees and Tuesday, November 9th in Denver with 35 attendees. While we wish we had more turnout, we certainly appreciate those who did! Thanks for your attendance. At the meetings we discussed the who, why, and how of the legislative action process to seek Licensure here in Colorado. Chris Mathewson, our Association President, explained how the CATA-BOD came to the decision to move forward with this action. In short, it is time! The NATA has made Legislation in all 50 states the #1 priority in their strategic plan. Therefore, the CATA-BOD made the decision to honor the goals of our professional society. We needed to move quickly because it was either now, or not until 2007, according to the Legislative timeline in Colorado! We were also fortunate enough to have Mr. Rick Ball in attendance at the meetings. Mr. Ball is the Legal Counsel that has been hired by the CATA to help us with the process. He has extensive experience with the Athletic Training profession and he just took Arizona through this same process. Mr. Ball spoke to the details of how we can get this done while maintaining the integrity of our qualified scope of practice. We are fortunate to have his expertise to guide us. Finally, Jennifer Dougherty was introduced as the Legislative Action Task Force (LATF) Chair and she did some “recruiting” for Task Force members with great response. A huge thanks to those members who volunteered! We greatly appreciate members who get involved to make OUR association and OUR profession better. Finally, we will be hosting 3 more Town Hall meetings in the beginning of next year: one in the North (most likely the Ft. Collins area, and two on the Western Slope. Please continue to check the CATA website for more details as we finalize the plans. Look forward to seeing you there!
Update: Town Hall Meeting Information
Ft Collins, CO
The first two Town Hall meetings have been completed with great feedback! After the meetings many members volunteered to join the task force to help with our legislative efforts. Town Hall meetings are now being finalized for the Western Slope and Northern locations. The Legislative Action Task Force (LATF) will be meeting as an entire group for the first time on December 12th to get acquainted and to organize efforts for future legislative tasks. They will continue to meet as a group on the third Sunday of every month to coordinate efforts in making licensure a reality in Colorado. There are still a few openings left on the Task Force if you are interested in joining. We especially need volunteers from the Western Slope and Northern Colorado regions. We would like to thank the following members who have agreed to be on the Task Force and help OUR association move forward in this effort!
C. A. T. A. Professional Liaison Committee:
Gwyneth Short and her committee have been very active in meeting with health professionals and health organizations from a variety of disciplines and practice settings. The mission of this committee is to educate the medical community about Certified Athletic Trainers and the services that they provide. This committee also strives to foster relationships between themselves, the C. A. T. A. and the Certified Athletic Trainers in the state of Colorado. Gwyneth reports that she has a meeting with the President of the Colorado Chapter of Kaiser coming up in January. Also, Gwyneth is a member of the Health Care Committee of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. She has also been to a meeting of this group. Gwyneth and her committee have been working very hard in this area.
Members with questions or suggestions can contact either Gwyneth Short, Committee Chair, or Dominic L. Di Manna, BOD Member-At- Large, at either of the following e-mail addresses; Gwyneth Short: Gwyneth@completeperformance.net. Dominic L. Di Manna: barkley1963@yahoo.com
C. H. S. A. A. Sports Medicine Committee Dominic DiManna
This committee is an arm of C. H. S. A. A. It is in its infancy and had its first meeting last February. Darryl Miller has done an excellent job working with Paul Angelico of C.H.S.A.A. to bring issues concerning athletic trainers to the attention of C.H.S.A.A. Questions about this committee can be directed to Dominic L. Di Manna at barkley1963@yahoo.com.
Bob Tim
The Public Relations Committee is gearing up for
National Athletic Training Month in March. Plans are in place to receive
another proclamation from Governor Owens declaring March as National Athletic
Training month in Colorado. Carrie Haugen is taking charge of working with the
Channel 9 Health Fairs this year. If you are hosting one of these Health Fairs
at your facility, or would like to participate in one, please contact Carrie.
Jim Gillen is planning an event with the Nuggets and giving another Excellence
in High School Athletic Training award. Check the CATA website or the Nuggets website for more information. I know many of you
do an excellent job promoting athletic training in you work setting, please
continue to do so. Also, contact your local news stations and newspapers to see
what they might be able to do to recognize
Robert Ryan
Call for Nominations 2006 election
The positions of President and one At-Large Member will be up for election in 2006. The CATA By-Laws set the following requirements for the Board of Directors.
All officers shall be certified members of the NATA for a period of not less than five (5) years immediately prior to their nomination, and shall have resided and practiced professionally within the State of Colorado for a period of not less than two (2) years immediately prior to their nomination.
Current President Chris Mathewson and At-Large Member Dominic DiManna are in their first term and are eligible for re-election to these positions.
Proposed Amendment to the By-Laws regarding the process for nominations for the Board of Directors.
The current By-Laws read Article IX Section b, 2 Nominations for the officers of President, Vice-President, Secretary, and at large members, may be submitted in writing prior to, or received from the floor during the annual business meeting of CATA for the year prior to the year of completion of the current term of office of the persons holding such offices.
Proposed Amendment Nominations for the officers of President, Vice-President, Secretary, and at large members, may be received from the floor during the annual business meeting of CATA for the year prior to the scheduled election, or submitted in writing for 5 months following the annual business meeting of CATA for the year prior to the scheduled election. Nominations in writing may be submitted by any voting member of the CATA and must be accompanied by a second to the nomination by another voting member of the CATA.
Rationale for the change The process of requiring nominations prior to or during the spring meeting has lead to two situations that have caused people to be reluctant to accept or unable to accept nominations to the CATA Board of Directors and could result in an election in which there are no candidates which were nominated by the current system.
1) There have been individuals nominated for positions on the CATA Board that have withdrawn from an election after a change in their work situation has occurred during the summer. 2) There have been other individuals that have declined nominations in the spring because they were unsure of their work situation.
Changing the nomination process to allow for nomination to be accepted after the summer will eliminate this potential situation. The proposed amendment will still satisfy the needs of the association if the date of the annual meeting is changed.
According to CATA By-Laws Article XVI Sections b and c
b) Any change in the By-Laws shall require a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the voting members in attendance at the meeting of the CATA during which the change is considered.
c) If a quorum is not attained at the meeting the amendment is to be voted upon, then a mail vote of the voting membership shall be conducted, with a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of those returning valid ballots shall be required to adopt such an amendment.
If a quorum is not attained in the Spring meeting then this amendment will be included on the 2006 election.
Spring 2005 Election
The following people have been declared eligible and accepted nominations for election to the Board of Directors:
Vice President Carrie Haugen Scott Thomas
Secretary Gregg Harper Jason McWilliams
At Large Member Lisa Lear Chris Nagelhout Gwyneth Short
Ballots will be mailed in early February and must be returned postmarked by March 9th. The results will be announced at Symposium in March.
Corporate Sponsorship Committee Jason McWilliams
The Corporate Sponsorship Committee is up and running with the initial sponsors to be placed on the website on January 1. We have raised approximately $900 to date with another several companied verbally agreeing to partner with the CATA. In all only about thirty solicitations have been sent out. The plan is to have another thirty roll out by the end of the year. Please send any names and addresses that you may have to the committee. The more we can raise with this project the better. At this point all of the money raised will go toward government relations and potential licensure of athletic training.
Student Athletic Trainers Committee Jaclyn Lucas
After reviewing evaluation forms from past
conferences and speaking with high school student athletic trainers and
certified athletic trainers, it has been determined that hands-on interaction is
key. I feel with the recent concussion situations we have had throughout our
state that concussion evaluation and return to play criteria should be
addressed. Employment and college/university options will be discussed as
usual.
Kelly Brick
The CATA website has changed its address to www.rmata.org/cata In an effort to save the association money and unify our website with others in the RMATA district, we have moved our website to the RMATA server.
A Corporate Sponsorship Page has been added to the website. Click on the link and access those companies which are contributing to the efforts of the CATA!
Updates, such as job placement notices, upcoming events, awards, and featured members, are being made to the website constantly – so check back often to view the latest happenings in our association.
Feedback about our website is always welcome. Please, send any comments to Kelly_Lambeth@dpsk12.org
Connie Larsen
The Colorado Athletic Trainers Assn. has two accounts, (1) a checking account for the day-to-day income and expense of the association and (2) an investment account established with Putnam Investments. The Putnam Investment account contains monies that have been set aside from year to year for legislative pursuits.
The account balances as of 12-6-04 are: Checking - $12,515.26 Putnam Investments - $17,395.24
An itemized account of income and expenses is presented annually to members at the Annual Colorado Athletic Trainers Assn Business meeting.
College/University Athletic Trainers Committee Shannon Courtney
Hope you all are finding time for yourselves and your families as the fall sports season is coming to an end. Bob Toth, our district representative, forwarded the committee statement on first aid / CPR that was approved by the NATABOD and is being sent to all university presidents, athletic directors, risk managers and head athletic trainers.
In accordance with the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook Guideline 1.f.7, the NATA College and University Athletic Trainers' Committee recommends that colleges and universities implement a policy of mandatory current first aid/CPR certification for all athletics personnel associated with practices, competitions, skill instruction, and strength and conditioning. The CUATC also recommends that an institution's overall emergency action plan include an automated external defibrillator (AED) program.
The college & university athletic training committee is also busy putting together a heat illness presentation that would be made available ATC’s to educate student athletes on heat illness prior to the start of practice each fall. If you would like to view the presentations that were shown at the District 9 meeting please contact me.
I have received some questions and comments on visiting teams and host schools responsibilities for coverage. There are no written committee, or NCAA, policies on this issue that I have found, it is an institutional decision. I feel that with advanced communication between the host and visiting teams many of these concerns and issues can be resolved. It is common courtesy to contact the host school ahead of time, if an athletic trainer is not traveling with your athletic team. You should include written instructions if modalities or exercises are needed for your team, but may not always be granted. You should always send your own athletic training supplies with your team, it is not the responsibility of the host institution to use their own supplies unless arrangement have been made. The host institution has the responsibility to supervise and provide assistance to the visiting team and their coaches. Should any injuries occur then additional communication is needed. This is the philosophy that I use, the key being communication. I welcome any other suggestions or comments on this issue.
Clinical-Industrial-Corporate State Representative Elizabeth Kirtley
Since being appointed to this position I have asked myself and other Athletic Trainers - what defines us the best as an organization? And better yet what might be beneficial for us to grow and be of greater impact in the future? Some of the most noted comments- were do we stand in a clinical setting whether it be in a Physical Therapy Clinic, Hospital, Orthopedic Facility or a combined setting? How do we utilize our skills most appropriately and how do we improve our pay scale. A little history of myself I am currently employed full time for an Orthopedic Surgeon and my duties include office assistant- which encompasses history, evaluation, rehabilitation- both surgical and non-surgical. Rehabilitation is of key interest- I have been working on establishing billing and recouping of fees for the clinic in regards to rehabilitation prescription under the supervision of a physician. Yes it can be done and if it isn't available or established in the clinic your working at- question the office administrator or physician(s). This is a viable source of income not only for the facility but for the Athletic Trainer(s). It will also serve as a way to establish our field as creditable and valuable in the medical profession with insurance agencies. The ICD-9 codes that are available are very specific and include duties that any Athletic Trainer can perform (variable on setting and equipment available). The most difficult task that I am finding is establishing a fee for services. Utilizing several important features 1. Insurance Allowable 2. Fees/Payments according to region or state 3. Salaries- variable on region, facility and duties. It is in the works for the state of Colorado to establish additional certification on a state wide level which would be an asset to reimbursement for our well deserved services. In addition I have established a way to expose the public to the field of Athletic Training. In the waiting area I have utilized the space to detail Athletic Training and our duties. The information provides contact information for our National Organization as well as the accredited programs in the district. To add interest I have taken photos from athletes and general patients and displayed them along with a brief history of injury and return to sport/daily activities- via direction of Athletic Trainer and Physician. I have received such interest that I have patients bringing me photos of themselves after return to sport and thanking me for the rehabilitation and encouragement. Great way to promote Athletic Training and great way to get results form athletes/patients. Establishing a Sports Medicine Foundation has been a task that I have worked on with the Physicians in the group. It is to include scholarship opportunities for athletes and athletic trainers, Continued Education -accredited with NATA, and Research. This is also to encourage continued growth with Medicine and Sport. Please provide me with any input or ideas on improving our organization in a Clinical/Industrial/Corporate setting. Share some success stories as well- the more exposure we get as an organization the better.
Clay Selby
The recent decision by CMS regarding “Therapy-Incident To”, which allows physicians to bill for services provided by athletic trainers, will effect revenue generation severely. Athletic trainers working in a clinical setting and utilizing the approved CPT codes for athletic training services will no longer be able to bill Medicare patients. This may not seem like it is very crucial since we treat athletes who are not Medicare beneficiaries; however, Medicare sets the standard. It is very likely that other insurance companies will follow this model and begin disallowing all payments for athletic training services.
The ability to bill for athletic training services is not only important to generate revenue but also gives the profession recognition as a allied health care provider amongst other clinical health care professionals. We must remain active in legislative and regulatory issues to protect and enhance our profession.
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