The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) has announced the creation of an official Regional Healthcare
Partnership. The three-year commitment is a cooperative agreement between the
LHSAA and four regionalized healthcare groups. Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine,
North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center, Lake Charles Memorial Sports
Medicine and Green Clinic Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery will
work in conjunction to serve the student-athletes of the
LHSAA at state championship events and high school all-star games across Louisiana.
Each school year, the
LHSAA recognizes state champions in 27 sports with events held in every corner
of Louisiana. The safety and well-being of the student-athletes are of
the highest priority to the
LHSAA and its Healthcare Partners.
According to
LHSAA Executive Director Kenny Henderson, “We are excited about these
regional groups partnering to serve the healthcare needs of the
LHSAA. The safety of our student-athletes is a priority and, because we have
a working history with all four organizations, we are confident they will
exceed our expectations.”
For the past five years, Tulane has been the
LHSAA’s official sponsor in regard to healthcare coverage at state championship events.
“Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine is proud to continue providing coverage for
LHSAA events in the New Orleans area,” said Greg Stewart, MD, Director
of the Tulane Sports Concussion Program. “A sports medicine expert
standing on the sidelines has the best opportunity to examine and manage
an injury almost immediately after it occurs. This expedited attention
offers the injured athlete the best possible care when it is needed most,”
he said. “Our goal is to keep student athletes safe, prevent injuries
and get those athletes with injuries back to 100%.”
This has allowed the
LHSAA to cultivate relationships with North Oaks, Lake Charles Memorial and
Green Clinic as they all have assisted in some capacity at
LHSAA events in their respective geographic areas. The new Regional Healthcare
Partnership will see the state split into four regions with each group
responsible for the athletic trainer needs at championship events in its
proximity.
Tulane will continue to service
LHSAA events in the greater New Orleans area. New Orleans currently hosts the
state championships in volleyball, football, wrestling, soccer, and 5A baseball.
North Oaks, located in Hammond, will provide the necessary Healthcare
and trainer needs for events in the Baton Rouge/Hammond region. North
Oaks has long provided trainers to the
LHSAA for the Girls’ State Basketball Championships and, more recently,
the Southeast Boys’ & Girls’ Basketball Regional in Hammond.
“For more than two decades, the North Oaks Sports Medicine team
has partnered with schools in our region to conduct safe and healthy athletic
programs. The initiatives of North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center along
with the expertise of Dr. Judson Penton, a surgeon and sports medicine
specialist with our center, have allowed us to expand our program scope
and extend our services to partnerships such as this,” affirms James
E. Cathey Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of North Oaks Health
System. “We appreciate the opportunity to further collaborate with the
LHSAA and our fellow regional healthcare partners toward the common goal of
safety and well-being for student-athletes competing at the state level.”
Other area events include the gymnastics and outdoor track and field state
championships.
Lake Charles Memorial has been providing athletic training care for the
student-athletes of southwest Louisiana high schools for multiple decades
now. Beginning in 2001, it has also had a presence at all
LHSAA events in Lake Charles and Sulphur when the state softball championships
were first moved to Frasch Park.
"Lake Charles Memorial Sports Medicine's has been involved in
high school athletics for almost 30 years. Our team of board certified
orthopaedic surgeons and family medicine physicians certified in the subspecialty
of sports medicine, as well as our staff of certified athletic trainers,
understand the role of preparing and treating high schools athletes,"
says Dr. Brett Cascio, Medical Director of Lake Charles Memorial Hospital.
"Beyond bones, joints and muscles, we have developed programs that
treat the total athlete like our concussion management program and our
Saturday morning sports medicine injury clinic open to all amateur athletes."
LHSAA state championship events to be covered by Lake Charles Memorial include
swimming, the southwest basketball regional tournament, softball, and
4A, 3A, B and C baseball.
Green Clinic Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery of Ruston first paired with the
LHSAA this past March as the State Basketball Finals were held at the Thomas
Assembly Center on the campus of Louisiana Tech.
"We are really looking forward to working with the
LHSAA,” said Dr. Richard Ballard, founder of the Sports Medicine and Orthopedic
Surgery Department of Green Clinic. “When we joined forces last
year for the State Basketball Championships I was pleased to find what
a class organization they are. We are excited to team up with them again
this year to provide sports medicine care for the state events in north
Louisiana."
Green Clinic will supply athletic trainer needs for all
LHSAA events north of Alexandria which include cross country, the north basketball
regional, the state basketball finals, tennis, golf, and 2A and 1A state
baseball championships.
For more information about the
LHSAA and its official Regional Healthcare Partnership, please visit the
LHSAA’s website at
www.LHSAA.org.
About Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine
Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine (TISM) enjoys a reputation for focused
attention on injury prevention and management for all major sports, whether
amateur or professional. TISM’s goal is to enable every athlete
to reach their full potential during competition and, in the event of
an injury, return that athlete to 100% capability as effectively as possible.
Using the most advanced techniques for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation,
the Institute provides one-stop, comprehensive sports medicine within
a preventative and curative framework backed by the medical and academic
resources of Tulane Medical Center and the Department of Orthopaedics
in the Tulane School of Medicine. TISM is a part of Tulane Medical Center.
For more information visit
TulaneHealthcare.com.
About North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center
North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center is an entity of North Oaks Health
System’s Physician Group with locations in Hammond and Livingston.
It is the only multispecialty practice of its kind on the Northshore and
in Livingston Parish, with a team of six physicians each specializing
in a different aspect of orthopaedics. In partnership with the North Oaks
Sports Medicine program, North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center is a
trusted health care resource for student-athletes on the playing field
and beyond in Southeast Louisiana.
About Lake Charles Memorial Sports Medicine
Lake Charles Memorial Health System is celebrating 60 years of service
to our community and for 30 of those years, Lake Charles Memorial Sports
Medicine has served local high schools and the university. When it comes
to student athletes, Lake Charles Memorial go beyond the physical, treating
not only orthopedic injuries, but the body, mind and spirit. The mission
of our Sports Medicine Program focuses on the TOTAL well-being of our
young athletes. As such, in the past five years, Lake Charles Memorial
has expanded our service capabilities with the recruitment of renowned
sports medicine specialists, along with the finest emergency medicine,
cardiology, family/sports medicine and internal medicine physicians. The
physicians, athletic trainers and therapists are employed by Memorial
and are provided free or at nominal cost to our local school systems.
Memorial Sports Medicine's Medical Director Dr. Brett Cascio is an
orthopaedic surgeon with a subspecialty in sports medicine. Trained at
Duke University and Johns Hopkins, with a fellowship at the prestigious
Steadman Hawkins Clinic, athletes travel from all over the state and beyond
to seek his expertise. As a faculty member in the LSU Department of Orthopaedics,
Dr. Cascio was recruited to take over Memorial Sports Program in 2009.
His credentials include being a hip consultant for Baltimore Orioles and
Tulane University. He has assisted in the care of multiple professional
and college teams, including the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, New
Orleans Jesters, Johns Hopkins, and McNeese State. Currently, he serves
as team physician for LA Swashbucklers. He is trained in the latest minimally
invasive arthroscopic surgical techniques for hips, knees and shoulders,
specializing in ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff tears and shoulder and
hip labrum repair.
About Green Clinic Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery
Green Clinic Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery has been in the Ruston
community for over 20 years. They have grown to now reach 4 parishes in
north central Louisiana. Teamed with two board certified orthopedic surgeons,
a certified nurse Practitioner, a Certified Athletic trainer, multiple
General Practitioners and Specialist, they seek to provide Care for the
Total athlete.
Dr. Richard Ballard is the founder of the Green Clinic Sports Medicine
and Orthopedic Surgery. He graduated from Farmerville High School as Valedictorian
of 1975, attended Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM) Summa Cum Laude
1978 to Louisiana State University Medical School class of 1982. He completed
his residency at the University of Mississippi in 1987 and now has his
own private practice at Green Clinic in Ruston, La. He has been the Team
Doctor for Grambling State University since 1989 and has organized pre-participation
physicals for athletes in north central Louisiana for over 20 years. As
a student trainer through high school and college, Dr. Ballard has a passion
for sports medicine involving high school and college athletes. He was
inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers Association (LATA) Hall
of Fame in 2000, and currently sits on the Medical Advisory Board of the LATA.
About the LHSAA
The
LHSAA is a private entity that provides and regulates interscholastic athletic
programs that promote fair and equitable competition among its member
schools that is in the best interest of the student-athlete.