Board approves Mercy Health for athletic training
Little Miami athletes and families will be seeing new faces in the training room, on the sidelines and at a new school-based health center thanks to a new partnership with Mercy Health.
The Board of Education approved a five-year contract with Mercy Health at its June 5 special meeting. As part of this new partnership, Mercy Health will make an annual cash donation to the Little Miami athletic department, provide two full-time trainers (one for the junior high and one for the high school), offer sports physicals, provide post-injury access to care within 24 hours and other services.
Along with caring for Panther athletes, Mercy Health will also offer health care services to the greater community with a school-based health center located within a Little Miami building. This would be the fifth such facility Mercy Health has established and joins school-based health centers located at Sayler Park School, Mt. Washington School, Silverton Paideia Academy and Pleasant Hill Academy.
The health center would be staffed by a nurse practitioner and services would include primary care, prescriptions, immunizations, counseling and mental health evaluations, among other services. More details on the health center will be forthcoming.
“I am excited for our Panther athletes and our community as we begin this new partnership with Mercy, “ said Athletic Director Tiffany Sawyer. “Our athletes deserve this and the relationship is another way we can take our athletic program to the next level.”
Mercy Health Physician and sports medicine specialist Edward Marchsechi, MD, a sports medicine and concussion specialist, will serve as Little Miami’s team physician. The athletic trainer will work under the advice and counsel of the team physician. In addition, the physician will provide direct orthopaedic care for athletic injuries and injury prevention training for the athletes. The partnership gives Little Miami High School athletes preferred access to treatment, diagnostic equipment such as x-rays or CAT scans and physical therapy options.
“We have stood on the sidelines for too long and watched other districts as they have entered into great corporate partnerships like the one we now have established with Mercy Health,” said Superintendent Greg Power. “This partnership benefits all students, not just our athletes. Good health plays a strong role in our children’s ability to succeed and grow and our partnership with Mercy Health ensures that our students have access to great care on and off the field.”
“Academic and athletic excellence are hallmarks of Little Miami Schools and the Panthers pride themselves on succeeding in the classroom and on the field,” said Pat Davis-Hagens, Mercy Health Central Market President and CEO. “Mercy Health is proud to partner with Little Miami Schools to provide all students, including student athletes, with the best quality care.”
The Board voted 3-1 in favor of the contract with Mercy Health. Board member Bobbie Grice voted no. Tony Niemesh was not in attendance. In casting her dissenting vote, Grice said that she believed in loyalty and appreciated the long-standing relationship the district had with previous provider Reconstructive Orthopedics/Tri-Health and Shaun Tubbs, a Little Miami alum.
