The Certified Athletic Trainers of HSHS Athletes Advantage Sports Medicine at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland are celebrating National Athletic Training Month during March 2019. National Athletic Training Month spreads awareness about the important work of athletic trainers. “ATs Are Health Care” is the theme of this year’s National Athletic Training Month, which is sponsored by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).
Certified Athletic trainers (ATs) are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide emergency care and prevent, evaluate and treat injuries and medical conditions for people in work, life and play including athletes, industrial workers, military service members and public servants.
HSHS Athletes Advantage Sports Medicine has been providing Certified Athletic Trainers to schools throughout the region since 2002. Starting with one school and one Certified Athletic Trainer, Athletes Advantage now has 14 Certified Athletic Trainers covering 12 high schools, 1 junior college, and 1 university. Athletic trainers serve students at:
Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville
Breese Central High School
Breese Mater Dei High School
Brownstown High School
Carlyle High School
Greenville High School
Greenville University
Highland High School
O’Fallon Township High School
Okawville High School
St. Anthony High School, Effingham
St. Elmo High School
Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville
Wesclin High School, Trenton
Through these important partnerships, certified athletic trainers attend games and practices at the schools to provide on-site injury evaluation, management of concussion injuries and sport-specific rehabilitation to ensure ideal outcomes. Additionally, through the Athletes Advantage Program, student athletes have access to licensed physical therapists and assistants to rehabilitate sports injuries, working in conjunction with Certified Athletic Trainers to ensure a comprehensive rehabilitation and timely return to activity.
The Athletes Advantage team also takes their expertise out to the community during fitness events such as races and walks.
“We are involved in many local events. We host a 5k in November, assist with HSHS hospital health fairs, provide coverage for Saturday morning youth football teams and offer summer camp opportunities in our service areas focusing on strength, speed, and agility,” said HSHS Athletes Advantage Manager Jamie Wagner, MEd, ATC, CSCS.
An important, sports-related issue that gets a lot of attention these days is identifying and treating concussions. Athletes Advantage offers ImPACT® Concussion Testing, which utilizes a computer-based neuro-cognitive function test, or simply an “impact test.”
Utilized by colleges, NASCAR, and the NFL, its purpose is to provide baseline testing followed by post-injury testing for those who have received a concussive injury. According to Wagner, the impact test is “a great tool for assisting in the treatment of concussions.”
Athletes Advantage’s Certified Athletic Trainers include:
Program Coordinator
Jamie Wagner, MEd, ATC, CSCS,
O’Fallon Township High School
Brynn Hackney, ATC & Shelby Thiems, ATC
Southwestern Illinois College
Amy Von Hatten, ATC
Althoff Catholic High School
Suzi Wessel, ATC
Highland High School
Erin Hoepfner, ATC
Breese Central High School
Marty Stewart, ATC
Breese Mater Dei High School
Sloane Hogg, ATC
Greenville High School
Brandon Kircher, ATC
Greenville University
Mike Peppler, ATC &
Whitney Kessler, ATC
Carlyle High School and Okawville High School
Kathy Kampwerth, ATC
St. Anthony High School
Patrick Wood, ATC
St. Elmo/Brownstown High School
Dave Pruemer, ATC
Wesclin High School
Brady Moore, MAT, ATC
PRNs
Valerie Haas, ATC
Mitchell Dasenbrock, ATC
Stacy Turner, ATC
For more HSHS Athletes Advantage Sports Medicine, visit athletesadvantage.hshs.org.
HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland are part of the Southern Illinois Division of Hospital Sisters Health System, which also include HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham.
