TOLEDO, Ohio — With sports canceled and school buildings closed, athletic trainers, who would normally be busy with the spring season, are now using their skills to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Track practice or a baseball game is where athletic trainers would usually be.
Since sports aren’t happening right now, they are putting their skills to good use on the frontlines of coronavirus testing.
“We want to work. We want to be able to help. This gives us the opportunity to give back and make sure everyone is safe. As everything opens back up, that we are safe in doing that," Aaron Sage said.
Mercy Health had over 20 athletic trainers. Not only are they helping at testing sites, but they are also vital to our first responders at the Toledo police and fire departments, providing mobile testing.
“Anytime we have a first responder that comes down with symptoms, we are able to get them tested right away and those results are coming back very quickly, which is awesome," Matt Brixey said.
Right now, 20 first responders are in quarantine or isolation. That number is down from over 80 three weeks ago. Because of the ability to get tested quickly, the number of firefighters and police officers who are able to work has never dropped to an unsafe level.
“We have been very fortunate between the health officers, medical directors, PPE, and testing; we have done very well with those numbers," Brixey said.
While athletic trainers would love to be on a sideline or at a game, they know the landscape of their job is changing right now. What they are doing is important to keeping us safe.
“What does this mean for athletics going forward? What does this mean for our profession? There are so many pieces, we don’t know what is going to happen. If we can help everyone speed this process along, so we can get back to covering sports again, that would be everyone’s choice," Sage said.
Most are working seven days a week to get us heading back in the right direction.
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