Colby, Abby schools to find new athletic training option

A number of area schools will be exploring alternate options for athletic training services in the coming weeks as Marshfield Clinic Health System looks to change their current agreements with the districts. After providing the services of their licensed athletic training staff as part of a free outreach program for over 30 local schools, Marshfield Clinic will now be passing those costs on to the districts, should they look to retain these services.

Licensed athletic trainers through Marshfield Clinic currently provide on site medical evaluations and treatments during games and practices for both schools. When injuries occur, athletic trainers are the first to diagnose and potentially treat these injuries and will make recommendations to seek further treatment at a medical facility if they deem it necessary. These initial examinations can be especially important for serious injuries like concussions, where a missed diagnosis could lead to greater injury if the player is allowed to go back into the game.

Both the Abbotsford and Colby school districts will be affected by this change and will need to decide whether or not they wish to enter into a new contract or be left to explore alternative options in the coming weeks.

In the newly proposed contracts, the districts are presented with two tiered choices for services.

The first tier will see the clinic offering the time allocation of a full time athletic trainer, in which the school can request up to five visits per week during the academic year and three visits during the summer months. The annual cost to the district for these services is set at $80,000, with additional costs of $40.00 per hour for away events or events that the school is hosting but not participating in.

The second tier offers half-time services of an athletic trainer at half the cost, or $40,000 annually. Rather than putting a number on the exact number of visits per week that will be allocated, assigned athletic training staff and the school must work together to ensure the correct frequency of visits. The same hourly charges found in the first tier apply to the second tier for any potential away games.

The mean annual salary for athletic trainers in the United States is $54,650 and for central Wisconsin and surrounding areas it is estimated that it falls between $47,810 and $50,940 according to a 2021 release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These figures do not include the cost of any additional benefits.

Members of the Abbotsford and Colby school districts seemed to balk at the proposed costs. Abbotsford’s athletic director Alex Larson noted that the Marshfield Clinic costs are “not feasible” in his written report to the school board at their meeting this Monday and stated that they were currently looking at other options.

“We did reach out to Aspirus and they told us they were not interested and we are still waiting to hear back from Bone & Joint,” Abbotsford superintendent Ryan Bargender said at Monday’s meeting. “Schools are also looking at possibly hiring and sharing a trainer.”

Bargender said preliminary talks in sharing a trainer were circulated via email but said he is not sure if that is a possibility as of yet.

“It wasn’t a ‘hey, can we meet and talk about this’ from them,” Bargender continued. “It was just an e-mail saying that they were not going to be able to fulfill the contract next year and here are our options. So not really a whole lot of love there.”

At Colby’s school board meeting, superintendent Steven Kolden expressed a similar sentiment, noting that proposed costs seemed high to him and that Colby too has been working to find an alternative option.

When asked to clarify on the need for an athletic trainer by the board, Kolden said, “Care and prevention of student injuries. Concussion protocol is huge. If our trainer says someone is not going back into the game, our coaches trust them.”

With budgets already tight and some local school districts like Athens already having to make serious cuts to staffing, it may be difficult for some schools to find alternative replacement options. While the WIAA does not require the presence of an athletic trainer at sanctioned events, they are highly recommended and have become a luxury that many programs have come to depend upon.

EMS services are currently provided at home football games, but all other athletic events would be left without an official medical attendant should the schools forgo having the services of an athletic trainer.

This proposal comes on the coattails of a recent announcement from Marshfield Clinic Health System that they would be cutting more than 300 staff and not filling over 500 positions that have remained vacant. The Marshfield clinic athletic training department would likely see cuts in staff if schools choose to explore other options and forgo the new agreement.

Marshfield Clinic did not respond to the Tribune Phonograph’s request for comment on the matter.

The school districts will need to decide if they will be re-signing with Marshfield Clinic by April 21. If they choose not to, the services will terminate on June 30.