Patrick Ohaver, an experienced athletic trainer and Coordinator of Methodist Hospitals Sports Medicine Program, has been recognized by the Secondary School Committee of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). Ohaver was recently named Athletic Trainer of the Year for NATA District 4, which covers several states in the Great Lakes region. This recognition puts him in the running for the title of National Secondary School Athletic Trainer of the Year, which will be awarded at the National Athletic Trainers Association’s (NATA) annual conference in New Orleans in June, 2024.
“Patrick’s experience. expertise and dedication to the region’s student athletes has brought him this well-deserved recognition,” said Omar Perez, MD, Medical Director of the Methodist Hospitals Sports Medicine Program. “We congratulate him and will be rooting for him at the national convention.”
The Secondary School Athletic Trainer of the Year Award recognizes excellence of athletic training profession in secondary schools. The award highlights the accomplishments of an athletic trainer going above and beyond their job responsibilities providing superior health care to their patients in the secondary school setting/ Award winners will have elevated the professions of athletic training at the secondary school level. They are advocates for the profession, helping their colleagues, inspiring others, and involved in their communities beyond their athletic environments.
About Methodist Hospitals’ Sports Medicine Program: The program employs 9 full time and 4 part time Athletic Trainers who provide athletic training services to 7 local high schools including Bishop Noll, Griffith, Highland, Lake Station Edison, Merrillville, Wheeler, and Whiting as well as for the Gary Railcats organization. The program provides athletic trainers to the schools so that daily injury management, rehab, and prevention can be implemented at the school. Methodist athletic trainers also offer the student athletes access to Methodist Immediate Care facilities, EDs, and excellent orthopedic surgeons who can diagnose and manage injuries and work with the athletic trainers to get those athletes back to play as safely and quickly as possible.
About the SSATC: The Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee (SSATC) is dedicated to recognizing the unique concerns and responsibilities associated with the secondary school athletic training practice setting, and to developing and providing materials and information that may enhance the effectiveness and marketability of athletic trainers working in this setting.
Action photo credit to R.H. Walker Photography
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Media Contacts
Linda Hadley
Director, Marketing and Corporate Communications
219-886-4779
lhadley@methodisthospitals.org
