Regional Sports Medicine Institute trainers work with Sullivan County to prevent staph infections
Certified athletic trainers from Wellmont Health System’s Regional Sports Medicine Institute are partnering with the Sullivan County Department of Education and the Sullivan County Regional Health Department to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases in area schools, given the recent reported cases of staph infection in Southwest Virginia.
There have been no confirmed cases of the virulent strain of staph called MRSA in the Sullivan County school system. But the Regional Sports Medicine Institute, the Sullivan County Department of Education and the Sullivan County Regional Health Department are taking the proactive approach of inspecting the county’s athletic training rooms and locker rooms, and have outlined an infection control program for students and faculty. MRSA is the acronym for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of staph bacteria that is resistant to most antibiotics used to normally treat staph infections.
A handful of confirmed cases of MRSA have been reported in Southwest Virginia this year, and those cases have heightened public awareness of the disease.
“We’re working hand in hand with the Sullivan County Department of Education and the Sullivan County Regional Health Department on this,” said Chris McWherter, manager of outpatient physical therapy at Wellmont Wellness and a certified athletic trainer with the Regional Sports Medicine Institute. “As a precautionary measure, we met last week, and all the trainers were alerted to be on the lookout. I checked all the Sullivan County high school facilities to see if everything was going right – to make sure they were doing laundry at a reasonable rate, that athletic equipment wasn’t being stacked up wet where it couldn’t dry out, to see they were using disinfectant on the floor, to see if wounds were being covered – and they were all taking the right precautions.”
The infection control program includes but is not limited to prevention of staph, as the new guidelines target the prevention of strep, colds, flu and blood/body fluid contamination as well. Good hand hygiene is the most effective way to prevent the spread of infection.
Athletic trainers have presented a checklist of preventive measures to maintain a proper infection control program to Sullivan County sports teams. Also, trainers are assisting in monitoring and disinfecting all athletic facilities.
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