MRSA kills more people in this country than AIDS. MRSA has reached epidemic levels, especially in the Southeast, the State of Texas, and Los Angeles. As a result, there is an increase in the number of MRSA lawsuits being brought against schools and sports associations.
A Note to Athletic Directors:
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
If one of your student-athletes were to get a staph infection and needed to be hospitalized for a week, not only would it be heartbreaking for the athlete and the team, but the hospital bill would cost $20,000.00 or more!
Your insurance company would have to pay most, if not this entire bill, but would in turn raise your premiums due to the claim. They would then raise your premiums even more due to the high risk of more infections within your athletic department. This hike in premiums would most likely be in the 200-300% range. Check your current premiums and do the math on that amount. It is probably quite substantial.
It would be a tragedy for any student-athlete to contract a staph infection, but what if it was a star that had a professional career ahead and this infection either eliminated the chance for this career or postponed it? The lawsuit that could result would be in the millions of dollars for loss of potential earnings.
If you have given the student-athlete a scholarship and he/she can no longer play, or is out for a lengthy timeframe, then the infection has cost you the amount of the scholarship as well.
This is a very serious situation, and with the amount of cases that have been reported in the last few months and the increase in lawsuits caused by staph and MRSA injuries, there is a strong possibility that your athletic department will be struck with a tragedy of similar scale if you do not take preventive measures.
Protect your students and coaches. Protect your school. Be Proactive.
Nobody thinks it will happen to them until it does! Just ask the coaches, students and families of those who have suffered.
Cleaning your equipment does cost money, but it will also reduce your risk and exposure to the above situations and will therefore save you considerable dollars.
In addition to the above, washing equipment the right way on a regular basis will keep the mold, bacteria and fungus from eating the padding, so this service also prolongs the life of your equipment. The result of this will reduce the amount of money you will need to spend on replacing old, worn-out gear. The money saved will help offset the costs associated with cleaning the equipment.
Healthy Athletes are Productive Athletes!