The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net The turnaround period between injury to a return to the field of play promises to be more efficient and cost-effective due to a new initiative. The Ministry of Education has partnered with the Foot and Ankle Institute to provide sports injury care to student athletes. The ministry has entered into an agreement with Advanced Medical Care for the treatment of athletic injuries within the public school system. And it is also open to athletes at all levels. Student athletes will now be able to receive treatment for athletic injuries using the insurance that was purchased at the time of school registration. Dr Kenneth Kemp, of the Foot and Ankle Institute, said the programme was created out of a necessity to have athletes assessed, diagnosed and treated as soon as possible in order to make a swift return to the field of play. "The partnership between the ministry and I was fostered after I became increasingly frustrated by the breakdown in treatment of Bahamian athletes at the school, collegiate and Olympic levels. These patients frequently presented after months to years of improper treatment, or a lack thereof, to career-limiting if not career-ending injuries. "Their condition had now reached chronic levels requiring a wider treatment armamentarium (medicines, equipment and techniques), prolonged treatment times and a delay in return to pre-injury performance levels," he said. "This endeavour, the first of its kind in the Bahamas, seeks to both promote health and wellness and provide early medical diagnosis and care of these athletes from both the Foot and Ankle Institute and Advanced Medical Diagnostics. In conjunction with insurance companies, we are finally bridging the gap in the care of these individuals and it represents a significant step forward for both athletes and the country." Advanced Medical Diagnostics hosted a conference in the Dean's Lane complex at Fort Charlotte, featuring many of the integral figures in the programme launch, and also several students from various GSSSA sporting disciplines. "What I saw was that what we needed to do was to educate the patients, to get them to come in sooner. A lot of them were saying that they were not getting the right treatment. They were told they didn't have a problem and continued to work past the issue and make it worse, or they did not have the money because they couldn't afford to co-pay. What we started doing, myself and Dr Johnson, was reaching out to the ministry, and once we did that we decided that we also need to include the insurance. We will accept their insurance and we will waive their co-pay," he said. "It's about being service driven, meeting the demands of patients, treating them as family members, getting them assessed and then having them diagnosed by our partner facility which is Advanced Medical Diagnostics. After that we focus on cost containment for the patient, for the insurance companies and for the country as a whole." The programme came into effect Tuesday afternoon immediately following the announcement of its launch. "We are focusing on more preventative health and wellness and athletes who take the pre-requisite steps to ensure that if they do get injured it is treated quickly, assessed and they can get back to their regular training regimen," Kemp said.