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By Michael A. Monteiro, MS, ATC, CSCS
Loss Prevention
The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company (Rhode Island)
 Two
weeks prior to Super Bowl XXXVIII, Teddy Bruschi of the New England
Patriots suffered an injury to his calf muscle that prevented him
from performing at full capacity.
At the same time, an assembler at Delta Faucet Corporation slipped
on a step-ladder, also resulting in an injured calf muscle that interfered
with his ability to perform at functional capacity.
With Bruschi out of the line-up, the Patriots realized a Super Bowl
victory could be jeopardized. Delta Faucet faced an identical situation:
Its “team” would not be as productive without one of its
key players.
Fortunately, Delta Faucet and the New England Patriots both employ
medical professionals that specialize in early injury intervention—
certified athletic trainers.
Employers have begun to recognize the return on investment value
of a certified athletic trainer in the workplace. It is reasonable
to picture a certified athletic trainer working with Teddy Bruschi,
a professional athlete, but what would a certified athletic trainer
be doing in the workplace?
ATCs, as they’re called—professionals with Athletic Trainer
Certification—work with professional and “industrial”
athletes.
Webster defines “athlete” as a person trained or skilled
in acts or games requiring physical strength, agility and speed.
He could have been referring to any number of industrial athletes
who need skill, speed, strength, agility and other athletic skills
to do their jobs in an efficient and productive manner. Webster,
however, never defined “certified athletic trainer.” So
read on.
What is a certified athletic trainer?
Recognized by the American Medical Association as allied healthcare
professionals, certified athletic trainers are unique healthcare
providers who specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment
and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses that occur to athletes
and the physically active.
As part of a complete healthcare team, the ATC works under the direction
of a licensed physician and in cooperation with other allied healthcare
professionals.
Traditionally, ATCs were employed strictly in the athletic settings
of secondary schools, colleges, universities and professional sports.
Recently, it has become more commonplace to find ATCs employed in
sports medicine clinics, the U.S. military and even the industrial
setting.
Why? The skills an ATC uses in returning an athlete to play are
the exact same skills used to return an employee to work. With an
educational background including anatomy, physiology, therapeutic
exercise and biomechanics, the ATC is skilled at injury prevention
due to having an understanding of the mechanisms of the various
injuries, as well as the anatomical structures damaged.
An ATC’s expertise allows early intervention and rehabilitation.
Policyholders realize savings in the form of fewer emergency room
visits, reduced lost workdays and improved productivity.
Survey results support ATCs in the workplace
Craig Halls, an ATC employed by Appleton Papers Inc. to manage an
on-site physical rehabilitation center and direct the company’s
ergonomic program, reported a survey published in 2003 by the National
Athletic Trainers’ Association to assess the return on investment
of an ATC in the occupational setting.
Survey results provide evidence that on-site occupational athletic
training programs add value to a corporation through decreased frequency,
severity and overall cost of worker’s compensation claims for
musculoskeletal disorders as well as increased worker productivity
through fewer lost or restricted workdays.
The fact that these results benefit both the workers and the employers
is also beginning to raise the interest of insurance companies who
are looking for ways to control or reduce the loss of earned premium
dollars. Survey highlights:
• 100 percent of companies report the ATC provides a
positive return on investment.
• 94 percent of companies indicate the severity of injuries
decreased at least 25 percent.
• Nearly two-thirds of the companies indicate the ATC
helped decrease restricted workdays and worker’s compensation
claims for musculoskeletal disorders by more than 25 percent.
• 50 percent of companies report that the number of
injuries decreased at least 50 percent.
• Nearly half of the companies that utilize an ATC to
provide on-site physical rehab indicate that healthcare costs decreased
more than 50 percent.
Employing workplace ATCs
Can an ATC be employed in the occupational setting in your state
or province?
Whether an ATC is permitted to practice in the occupational setting
depends on the licensure of your state or province. Nationally,
athletic training Codes of Procedural Terminologies were adopted
in 2002. Recently, insurance companies in some states have recognized
CPT codes for reimbursement of ATCs. Efforts have been made by the
National Athletic Trainers’ Association and state athletic
training associations to educate the public, legislators and insurance
companies on the athletic training profession.
Efforts paid off in Ohio, for example, where the Ohio Bureau of
Worker’s Compensation passed a rule change on July 14, 2003,
to recognize Ohio licensed athletic trainers as approved providers
and reimburse for their services.
Where to begin
State licensure outlines the scope of practice for each professional.
Contact the department of health in your state or province to determine
what, if any, licensure exists governing the duties of a certified
athletic trainer.
Also, your state may have an athletic training association that
will welcome your inquiries and, more than likely, be eager to set
up a meeting to create dialogue between all parties. To learn more,
contact National Athletic Trainers’ Association; 2952 Stemmons
Freeway, Suite 200; Dallas, Texas 75247; (214) 637-6282, www.nata.org
Author Michael Monteiro can be reached at (401) 825-2736 or
mmonteiro@beaconmutual.com.
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