WCHS athletic trainer gets the axe

Winner of the 2009 Kentucky Press Association Best Sports Story - Class 3 Weekly (circulation over 4,600.) Originally published July 9, 2009

The Bluegrass Community Hospital announced last week that it has eliminated the athletic training position at Woodford County High School, leaving the future of Walker Terhune’s job unclear. The announcement left school officials scrambling to find alternative funding with the start of football, soccer, cross country and volleyball practices only weeks away.

Terhune served as the Yellow Jacket athletic trainer for three years, providing on the field medical care and rehabilitation services to athletes in every sports program at the school. Bluegrass Community Hospital employed Terhune and contracted his services to the WCHS.

Bluegrass Community CEO Kathy Love said eliminating the position, along with the athletic trainer at Midway College, will save the hospital about $100,000 per year.

“We always have to preserve our core hospital services,” she said. “It was a painful decision.”

The hospital did not eliminate any other positions, and Love emphasized that the organization remains financially sound.

“We’re not in any sort of crisis,” she said. “We are tightening our belts.”

Love cited a drop in donations, as well as cost pressures with driving the decision to eliminate the athletic trainer positions. A rise in uncompensated care has strained the hospital’s budget, and uncertainties in the health care industry regarding the possibility of healthcare reform have administrators taking proactive measures. Love said that regardless of what form healthcare reform takes, she expects future cuts in provider reimbursements.

Woodford County High School assistant principal and athletic director Bob Gibson said that the school has already started looking for other healthcare organizations to partner with in order to keep an athletic trainer at WCHS – preferably Terhune. He said that school officials have meetings scheduled for later in the week.

“We may be able to get everything back on board,” he said. “Obviously, we would want to maintain not only the position, but the individual.”

Neither state law or the Kentucky High School Athletics Association require Kentucky schools to have a trainer on staff, but Gibson said that he recognizes the importance of the athletic trainer for health and safety of Jacket athletes.

“It’s of vital importance to our program.”

Gibson said that he understands the hospitals decision and that he doesn’t want people to perceive Bluegrass Community as the bad guy.

“They’ve been a big sponsor of our programs,” he said.

It remains unclear whether the Woodford County School Board will provide any funding for an athletic trainer if the school cannot find another healthcare organization to foot the bill.

“Obviously, we just found out last week,” Superintendent Scott Hawkins said. “We’re trying to explore all of our options. If we can keep an athletic trainer, we certainly want to do that.”

But dollars will factor into the decision.

“We don’t know what costs we’re looking at. We’ll see what kind of expenses we might be looking at. We want to provide quality service at a price that we can afford,” Hawkins said. “We’ll have a much clearer picture once we have some of these meetings and see what our options are.”

Yellow Jacket football coach Chris Tracy expressed concern about the possibility of going into late summer practices without an athletic trainer on the sideline. Last summer, Pleasure Ridge Park football player Max Gilpin died after collapsing during practice on a hot August evening. Prosecutors charged PRP coach Jason Stinson with negligent homicide. There was no athletic trainer at the practice when Gilpin succumbed to the heat.

“After what happened in Louisville, I don’t know that I want to be out there doing what we do without a trainer,” Tracy said.

Several WCHS athletes reacted to the news of the possible elimination of the athletic training position with dismay.

“I don’t really know what to say right now. I’m kind of in shock,” Yellow Jacket soccer player Katrina Ott said.

Terhune helped Ott rehab several injuries and she credits daily sessions with him for getting herself healed and back on the field faster. She said that she probably took his presence on the sidelines for granted.

“It’s really important to have a trainer at your convenience,” she said. “Sometimes when you’re hurt, coaches are not as qualified and don’t know.”

Terhune not only heals the body, he serves as a mentor and trusted adult figure in the lives of many Woodford County athletes.

Senior Jay Tackett, a soccer and football player, posted his feelings on the Woodford Sun Sports Facebook page.

“This is terrible. Woodford’s losing an awesome sports trainer. Walker’s been a great friend of mine through all my years of high school and he would be greatly missed.”