GREENE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -- One local community is celebrating its one-year anniversary of having sports medicine in the community. At first, Greene County didn't have sports medicine readily available to the community. This meant schools didn't have athletic trainers and people had to go elsewhere for a sports-related injury.
Greene County General Hospital saw this need and decided to fill it.
The orthopedics and sports medicine center is called Team Ortho.
Athletic trainers are now at most schools in the area taking care of whatever needs athletes may have.
Athletic trainer Jed Arseneau said, "We kind of turn into their first line of healthcare because of the fact that we're in the school, we can look at and see the injury right when it happens, and make decisions of 'alright we think this can wait or hey you need to go to the emergency room."
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Hammerstein said he is excited to bring this need for sports medicine to the county.
He said it's more than just surgery, and the trainers do more than just grabbing ice packs.
Dr. Hammerstein said, "You see the work that these trainers are doing and you know they put in the hours. They're there at the school all the time, answering questions to the athletes and parents. They're on the phone a lot just keeping them going."
Keeping athletes going is what Dr. Hammerstein and the rest of his team is focused on.
Dr. Hammerstein said so far, that focus is working.
The head coach for the Linton Women's Basketball team told News 10 it feels like a weight was lifted off his shoulders when their trainer Jed joined the team.
He told News 10 before Jed, coaches would have to worry about getting players ice and what they would do if players got injured.
However, now coaches can strictly focus on what they are doing on the court.
Coach Jared Rehmel said, "It's like now you can focus on the basketball side of things, and if something does happen to a player then they can just go straight over, and it's a quick look at, and decided exactly what's going on."
But it's not just coaches that feel like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders, it's parents too.
Robin rose is a parent of a student-athlete at Linton. She said now, there's a whole new level of relief when she goes to her daughter's games.
Rose said, "To be in a small rural community and have access to this type of care, the quality of care that we have with dr. Hammerstein and our trainers are amazing."
