Terrebonne General Provides Crucial Equipment to Local High Schools

Pictured: Gus Brown, Athletic Director Ellender Memorial High School, Melvin Wallis, Certified Athletic Trainer TGMC Community Sports Institute and Stan Gravois, TGMC Community Sports Institute Director.

Terrebonne General Medical Center’s (TGMC) Community Sports Institute is proudly keeping the student athletes of our parish safe by providing crucial equipment for use at local high schools.

On June 15, 2020 Governor John Bel Edwards signed a student-athlete safety bill (Act 259) that mandates heat acclimatization and the use of wet bulb glove temperature (WBGT) to monitor environmental conditions for practices and games of our youth. This became a cooperative endeavor with the LHSCA, LHSAA, LHSFA, LHSAA, LATA and LASE to make sure our student athletes are safe. This law is now in effect as of August 1, 2020.

TGMC’s Community Sports Institute (CSI) provided WBGT thermometers to all the high schools in Terrebonne Parish. In addition, CSI held healthcare sessions for each high school and reviewed the Act 259 and how the WBGT will affect their students.

“It is wonderful to have the TGMC Community Sports Institute provide the wet bulb glove thermometers for our school so that we can keep our student athletes as safe as possible,” said Gus Brown, Athletic Director at Ellender High School. “We appreciate our partnership and everything they do for our student athletes.”

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research says, on average, three football players a year have died from heat stroke since 1995, most of which were high aged students.

Phyllis Peoples, TGMC, President and CEO shared “It is with tremendous pride that we were able to provide the WBGT thermometers to each high school in our parish; and this is another example of our level of commitment to the community we proudly serve.”