Trainers’ program
gets big boost

The DOEwill advertise for
25 new positions, making Hawaii
the first state to cover its
prep sports programs

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii is about to become the first state in the nation to completely cover its high school sports programs with full-time professional athletic trainers.

Cindy Clivio, president of the Hawaii Athletic Trainers Association, said last night that the state Department of Education has told her that advertising of 25 new trainer positions will begin on July 13. The new trainers would be able to start work on Sept. 1.

There are already 15 trainers in place, so the new hires will ensure that all 40 public prep programs in operation this fall are covered.

"Without a doubt, Hawaii is the first state to cover all schools," said Bart Buxton, former University of Hawaii professor who is now director of sports medicine at Georgia Southern University.

Buxton, who was largely responsible for securing the money for the first 15 when he headed a trainers' program at UH, said the District of Columbia is the only other geographic entity in the U.S. to staff all of its schools with trainers. D.C. has 13 high schools.

"I think this is huge for a number of reasons, but mostly because it continues to make Hawaii a leader in managed health care for its people," he said. Buxton lectures throughout country using the early Hawaii trainers' program as a case model. He said he will now expand his references to the state.

The urgency for the trainers was heightened not only by Hawaii's liability to injury lawsuits, but also by national data revealing that more than 60 percent of all injuries occur on the practice field. Prep athletes spend much more time in practice than in actual games.

Buxton said that California is now experiencing serious liability problems because there have been five deaths related to prep sports in the last 10 months. The last involved a boy hit in the head with a baseball.

News that Hawaii's additional trainer positions will be advertised ended concerns that the DOE might reassign the money earmarked earlier by the state Legislature to other areas in the department's budget.

"It's a relief and it's a cause for celebration for the student athletes of Hawaii," said Clivio, a Kamehameha Schools trainer who lobbied for the trainers.

"We were concerned when we heard that when the money is approved, they (DOE) can do what they want with it," said McKinley High School athletic director Neal Takamori.

"But the bottom line is that DOE has the kids' interests at heart. How can you put a value on the health and welfare of the kids?"

Takamori said he's delighted to see Hawaii take the national lead in high school athlete health care.

"If it's a wakeup call to the rest of the country, then that's good," he said.

Prior to 1992, when the first 10 trainers were approved for the public high schools, only private schools employed full-time trainers who were college-educated and certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA).

The Legislature was supposed to approve more trainers each year until there were enough to cover each school. But there was no further increase in funding after five more were put in place in 1993.

"Dr. Herman Aizawa has the power of discretion to hold back the money, but I think what has happened is he saw the light," said Sen. Rod Tam, the legislature's most vocal advocate of the measure.

Kaiser High athletic director Bill von Arnswaldt said he knows there are some potential candidates for the jobs who have held off from applying because they know the positions are currently classified as 12-month jobs.

The trainer salary will remain at $32,000. Due to the modest pay scale, applicants are often young and single.

The 15 schools currently covered by full-time trainers are Waiakea, Konawaena, Maui High, Lahainaluna, Kauai High, McKinley, Waianae, Kahuku, Waialua, Waipahu, Aiea, Mililani, Kailua, Farrington, and Kaimuki.

Clivio said she believes there will be plenty of candidates for the positions from Hawaii and the mainland.

"Word is spreading quickly but a lot of people were waiting to hear what would would happen (at the DOE level)," said Clivio.