Past Student Plays an Instrumental Role in Saving a Life

There comes a time when the things you have either heard or learned in the past come full circle.  That very thing occurred for LSU Athletic Training Alumni Jeff Gregory, ATC. A little over a month ago Jeff, who is now the running backs coach at Neville High School in Monroe Louisiana, was called to use the skills he had learned at LSU as an athletic training student when one of his players collapsed on the field.  Remembering his medical training from LSU, Jeff quickly rushed to the 17 year old and began CPR.  With the help of the other coaches, Jeff was able to provide life sustaining care to the young athlete until emergency medical technicians arrived.  It was the combined effort of the other coaches, who cut the boy’s pads off, ran to activate emergency services, as well as hooking up the AED that played an essential role in saving his life.  Jeff Gregory reached out to one of his fellow LSU athletic training classmates, Lance Champagne, ATC, to share what had happened and how he felt about the event.  In turn, Lance reached out to the staff at LSU, Jack Marucci, Andy Barker, Shelly Mullenix, and Shawn Eddy, to thank them for preparing them so well for those types of situations.  In the e-mail Lance said, “Jeff and I talked on the phone last night.  He talked about all the in-services and the annual CPR/spine boarding/emergency situation “practice” we did as students.  He said he felt like that prepared him for his emergency situation.”  The LSU Athletic Training Program and its staff have continued and expanded the annual pre-season in-services, which are meant to keep students comfortable with performing the emergency care tasks that they may be called to use one day.  Lance wrote, “Looking back, those early morning meetings seemed like such a pain and that you guys were making us get up early as some sort of sick punishment, but it was all worthwhile.  I know I personally haven’t said it enough, but THANK YOU to all of you for efforts to educate…”  Jeff reached out to Jack the morning after the event to personally thank him for the mentorship and guidance over the years. Shelly Mullenix mentioned in response to Jeff's call that, "It is humbling to be able to think back out how fortunate we have been to have such great athletic training students come through this program. To know that a number of our kids (now adults) have played a role in saving the life of a someone's child is just incredible. Times like this make me proud to be a part of LSU." This story really hits home for me, as I am sure it will for all past and presents students.  We will never truly appreciate the emergency training the Athletic Training Program provides for us, but we will when we are called to use those skills.  At that time, we will realize how truly blessed we are to have people who care so much about the quality of education and experience that we receive in the LSU Athletic Training Program. 

Below is a link to view an article about the event. 

http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/neville-coaches-speak-on-collapsed-players-recover/12478/-CAQXHBvU06-Pnk-Txj8Tw

Fueling Stations Have Arrived

Members of the Nutrition Staff

Under the supervision and drive of our team nutritionist, Jamie Meeks, RD, the nutrition services available to the LSU student athletes have been expanding.  With the recent NCAA move to deregulate food consumption, there have been a lot of positive changes.  Jamie and her staff have added Fueling Stations to three different sports facilities, the Football Operations Facility, the Tiger Stadium Strength and Conditioning Center, and the Cox Communication Academic Center for Student Athletes.  In the morning hours, these Fueling Stations offer hot breakfast sandwiches, bagels and yogurt among other items.  Throughout the day, there are small, healthy snacks that the athletes can grab when going to and from class.  In the evenings, The Cox Fueling Station an enhanced snack is offered.  This enhanced snack varies from grilled chicken sandwiches and sandwich wraps just to name a few.  Meeks explained that the NCAA has changed some of the regulations on feeding athletes.  In the past years, the athletes were only allowed to be fed essentially fruit, nuts, bagels, and granola.  This year, because the NCAA has deregulated some of the feeding policies, more can be offered to the student athletes.  In order to make these changes, Meeks collaborated with nutritionists at other schools and has been fortunate enough to be able to expand her staff.  She now has one full- time intern, Lauren Silvio, RD, and fifteen volunteer sport nutrition intern students.  These students are responsible for manning the fueling stations, keeping them well-stocked, and presentable.  I asked Jamie Meeks how she decided on what to include at the fueling stations.She wanted to have, "wholesome, full calorie foods available that were high in protein, contained good carbohydrates, and healthy fats."  By including food that promoted energy and recovery, she hopes to improve the way the athletes currently eat teach them what they should eat when not at school.  All of work that Jamie’s and her staff has put into Project Fueling Station has certainly paid off.  She has seen a positive change in the nutrition of her athletes already.  "The athletes are eating more instead of back loading their calories. Their moods have improved and they have higher energy levels. More importantly, there are fewer athletes who are requiring one-on-one nutritional counseling. Overall, the Fueling Stations have been a very positive addition to our elite, athletic environment.  We would like to congratulate Registered Dietician Jamie Meeks on the success of her Fueling Stations and the expansion of her staff!

                                        


                                                                                                                   Football Practice Facility Fueling Station

Calling all Breakfast Foods!

Throughout the entire month of September the athletic training students gathered non-perishable food to donate to the Shepard’s Market on Highland Road.  The students decided to make a friendly competition out of it and see which class could donate the most. This generated over 200 pounds of food which filled the shelves at the Market!  The amount of food donated was said to serve around 105 families per week! During the month of October there will be another food drive held to collect canned fruits.  Our program wide mission is to donate 1,000 lbs. for the year in the hopes that we can help brighten the day of those in need.  

Student of the Month: September

Congratulations to Evan Denoux, our athletic training student of the month for September.  Evan is a second year student who worked with Catholic High School last year and is currently working with our LSU Football program.  When speaking with Jamie Meeks, our team nutritionist, she stated, “Evan is nonstop, literally sprinting from duty to duty, and completing them in a quality manner. Amongst all of his responsibilities as a Football Student Athletic Trainer, he always finds time to offer his assistance to the sports nutrition staff. He always has a positive attitude and takes pride in his work and future profession.”  Most recently, Evan has accepted a position as a 2015 Summer Intern with the New England Patriots. Obtaining this internship is a testament to his hard work and effort. "We think he may be the fastest running student athletic trainer we have had a football. Our video guys are going to make a "how to hustle" video of Evan before the season is done!" says Director of Athletic Training Jack Marucci. Congratulations to Evan and keep up the hard work!