NATA Now

After more than 7 trillion gallons of rainwater covered Louisiana and Mississippi Aug. 8-15, the Baton Rouge-Lafayette area experienced historic flooding resulting in extensive damage to homes, schools and entire communities. In the November NATA News, “ATs Taking Care of ATs” (p. 25) details the work conducted by members of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and others in the AT community to support those affected by the flood.

We are excited to announce the official launch of the AT Grant Program, the latest collaboration between NATA and the NFL Foundation! This new pilot program was created to provide funding to public high schools with football programs that have limited or no access to an athletic trainer. Gatorade, the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society and the Korey String Institute have also partnered with the NFL Foundation on this important initiative.

Conducted every 2 years, the NATA Salary Survey is a nation wide effort to equip members with the data they need to negotiate their pay with a current or prospective employer. Upon survey publication in the spring, NATA members will be able to manipulate salary data through various categories including level of education obtained and years of working experience in order to best fit their needs.

Last year we conducted a contest to promote #BetterTogether, which was the theme of the 67th Clinical Symposia & AT Expo. The winner of the contest ending up being Brock Wright (@brockwright14), a student at Truman State University, with his friend Aaron Patterson. Below he explains the process of creating the tape outfits they wore for the photos they submitted, so if you’re looking for a unique costume for Halloween this year, this is your guide. Here’s Brock: 

Our thoughts are with the NATA members and their families who have been affected by Hurricane Matthew.

The NATA International Committee is proud to announce two important initiatives focused on furthering the recognition of athletic training and athletic trainers on a global scale.

By Kara Gainer

Did you know HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary? As you may recall, President Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law on Aug. 21, 1996. After having noticed various media outlets reporting on HIPAA’s 20th anniversary, I was prompted to look more closely at the law whose acronym we all are at least somewhat familiar with. 

By Chris Snoddy MA, LAT, ATC

The wise phrase “Practice makes perfect" is used to convey that regular exercise of an activity or skill is the way to become proficient in it according to one internet source. How good would your sports teams be if they never practiced? How good would surgeons be if they had not  practiced on cadavers earlier in their career? Athletic trainers work with coaches and orthopedic surgeons daily. Everyone realizes how much time athletes spend practicing before a game or the years of cadaver practice surgeons have before they perform surgery.

By Jeff Stone 
Past President – ATOM 
Past District One Director

Our little “Athletic Training World” lost a true gentleman on Wednesday… 

Jack Baynes’ star shined brightly throughout his career and on all whom he cared for…a warm, humbling, caring practitioner of sports medicine, he balanced his profession with a love of family and friends… 

“The world has lost a beautiful soul.” Paul Lessard 

“I learned from Jack…how to be humble and care about people.” Steve Kennelly