Increasing Access To Care
By Chris Smith, DAT, LAT, ATC
The September/October NATA News includes the article “Before the Blueprint,” which outlines things to consider before a face-lift, renovation or new construction project. To further shine a light on the topic, in this article series, the NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee and other ATs share practical insights and lessons learned from their recent facility projects.
Beginning in fall 2025, Burleson ISD, in partnership with our local hospital Texas Health Hughley, opened a brand-new medical clinic for student athletes and community wellness. Burleson ISD currently has a unique partnership with Texas Health Huguley that focuses on streamlined medical care for student athletes career and technical education opportunities for students interested in the medical field.
Because of a long-standing relationship, conversations for this endeavor began around the 2021-22 school year. New ways to expand service opportunities for the community and educational growth for students in the district were a priority. BISD Chief Health Services Officer Courtney Peets led the early discussions on what an opportunity to expand resources for all would look like.
“The clinic was an opportunity to expand that partnership while providing another resource for our students.” Peets said. “It also created opportunities for our career and technical education students interested in health care to gain hands-on experience and learn from professionals in the field.”
What’s Old is New Again
Burleson ISD Stadium is centrally located within the city. As a means of easy access for student-athletes at both high schools and middle schools, a vacant building near the stadium was the perfect location for a partnered clinical site. As Coordinator of Sports Medicine, I helped provide insight, not only for ideal medical resources available in the clinic for our student-athletes, but also how it could be utilized for Friday Night Football game day needs. It provided my staff a very unique opportunity to have imaging and other clinical resources available during high school games. By having our Team Physician housed out of it daily, we were all able to get familiar with it quickly and keep not only our parents informed on its availability, but visiting teams as well.
The Parent Perspective
Early feedback from parents has been the ease of convenience in access as a big selling point when it came to continued community backing on this initiative. Having a familiar face on the sidelines and on district property has improved continuity of care and trust. Seeing the communication between athletic trainers and the Burleson ISD medical director from point of injury, through shared medical notes and appointment scheduling has allowed parents to understand the inner workings of the sports medicine team more.
Having a dedicated clinic on district property has lessened the “best place to go” conversations and enhanced the trust that most things can be addressed in house. Because of this clinic, a majority of our student athletes are scheduled and seen within 24 hours of referral.
Can It Be Replicated
Through hard, intentional and dedicated dialogue among all stakeholders involved, this model and vision can be achieved almost anywhere on the secondary level. What that looks like is different across many school districts. I’d say start the conversations with administrators who are known to support fresh ideas, as well as your current team physician. Have a vision and be ready to explain the concrete and potential returns on investment for everyone.
From there, see what magic begins to unfold, but don’t get discouraged when talks stall early in the process. This was a five-plus-year project that is still finding its true groove currently. We aren’t the richest or most resourced school district in our area. What we are, though, is intentional on what we invest in long term.