Partnership adds Wilson AT to YMCA

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SIDNEY — Forty-four members have used the services of an athletic trainer at the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA since a new partnership between the Y and Wilson Health was established in August.

Wilson Senior Clinical Athletic Trainer Melissa Noble, of Sidney, has administered 187 treatments in that time. The partnership established Noble at the Y on a regular schedule, making her available to members who need sports medicine support. She is there two mornings and two evenings each week.

“Melissa Noble has been a great addition to our Y,” said CEO Ed Thomas. “She is highly trained and very good at what she does, but more importantly she cares for our members as evidenced by the number of meaningful relationships she has developed and by how many individuals she’s been able to help in a significant way.”

She helps by providing injury-prevention recommendations, rehabilitation, evaluation and referrals, first aid and CPR.

The partnership was proposed by Woody Goffinett, of Bellbrook, manager of sports medicine services for Wilson Health.

“People had pains. They were just living with it. I thought, ‘Why not put athletic trainers in the community to offer the same services they offer to high schools, colleges and pro teams?’” he said. “We start a fitness program. Then we say, ‘I’m sore,’ or an old injury acts up and we quit. Melissa’s being (at the Y) means taking care of nagging things, so people stick with it. People get a healthier lifestyle, the Y retians a member and Wilson serves the community. A goal is to keep people healthy and engage.”

Athletic directors are nationally certified and state licensed.

Noble has been an athletic trainer for 20 years and also serves Jackson Center Local Schools.

“When I was in high school, I dislocateed and fractured my elbow and went through physical therapy,” she said about how she became interested in the career. “I ended up going to Wilmington College, where they had (a course in) athletic training. From the first day, I took the classes, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

The work Noble does at the Y is different from what the organization’s personal trainers do.

“Athletic training is a health care profession. Personal training is a fitness profession,” Goffinett said.

“I see aches and pains that don’t go away or new people who are signed up and have some kind of ailment,” Noble said. She credits the people who man the front desk of the Y. When they register new members who might benefit from an athletic trainer’s help, they send those members to Noble. When clients go to her, she begins by reviewing their health and fitness histories. She discusses their past injuries and what they hope to accomplish. Then, she evaluates their current conditions.

“I do a physical examination, look for bruising, swelling, how much motion you have, what can you actively do, what can I have you do passively,” she said. When she has a diagnosis, she decides what the best treatment will be. It could be ice or heat or exercises for strength or flexibility. Sometimes, she decides that the client should see a physician. Dr. Matt Heckler is the medical director of sports medicine at Wilson Health.

“He approves our standard operating procedures,” Goffinett said.

Sometimes Noble will recommend work in the gym, the pool or the wellness center.

“The treadmill becomes a rehab space,” Gofinett said.

What challenges Noble most — and what she enjoys — is that she gets to work with people of all ages at the Y, unlike her work in school systems.

“When I start getting into older populations, I see hip replacements, knee replacements that you don’t see so much when you’re a high school athletic director,” she said. “You can’t have a 70-year-old doing box jumps. When you go from working with a gymnast to working with someone 70 or 75, there’s a lot you have to take into consideration. I like that challenge. I’ve helped gymnasts and simmers and weekend warriors and the elderly population.”

Goffinett noted that Medicare will cover 12 physical therapy visits for a patient with, for instance, a hip replacement.

“You can see Melissa to continue the program,” he said.

Thomas thinks the addition of an athletic trainer to the YMCA has been of great benefit.

“As part of our longstanding and wonderful partnership with Wilson Health, the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA became the latest location in Shelby County to include the services of a professional athletic trainer for its members. Melissa has been and continues to be a real blessing for our Y. We are grateful for all that she offers and that she is a part of our Y team,” he said.

Melissa Noble, Wilson Health senior clinical athletic trainer, right, works with Dave Monnier, of Sidney, at the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA recently.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/01/web1_SDN011817Rehab.jpgMelissa Noble, Wilson Health senior clinical athletic trainer, right, works with Dave Monnier, of Sidney, at the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA recently. Amy Chupp | Sidney Daily News

By Patricia Ann Speelman

[email protected]

Reach the writer at 937-538-4824.

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