Oct 26, 2017A Common Goal
Three health care professionals in Sturgis, Mich., have established a group that seeks to help injured high school students regardless of whether they compete on a school team.
According to The Sturgis Journal, Ashley Hopkins, ATC, Sturgis High School’s Head Athletic Trainer, formed the trio with Sarah Stroble, DPT, Doctor of Physical Therapy at Sturgis Hospital, and Amy Hackman, NP, a nurse practitioner who is in charge of the Gesundheit Student Health and Healing Center.
“The primary focus is on the student-athletes from my end, but we also want our students to know they can come to me if an injury has happened, and we can get them pointed in the right direction,” Hopkins said.
The program is intended to help students as efficiently as possible, ensuring that their parents are informed throughout the process. Along with treating students, they hope to help identify causes of injuries.
“This program we are setting up has great communication,” Dr. Stroble said. “Ashley may see a student-athlete [who] gets hurt, and she will contact Amy or myself, and that way we can work together and have quick results. We want to get our students into the right person and get them back on the playing field, if they are an athlete, with the right diagnosis.”
The three women expressed the hope that by combining their efforts, they would be more effective in their respective jobs.
“We’re obviously hoping to prevent injuries, and I think we are doing that by making better assessments, doing screenings on athletes, and spending some extra time with students,” Dr. Stroble said. “I want what is best for our student-athletes and to be able to help them be healthier and decrease injury rates, while also improving strength and endurance.”
