Update to athletic trainer practice act goes into effect

by Stephanie Kuzydym, WKRC

Thursday, January 27th 2022

https://local12.com/news/investigates/athletes-at-risk/update-to-athletic-trainer-practice-act-goes-into-effect-today-cincinnati-ohio-ohio-epipen-inhaler-medication

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Jan. 27 is a game-changing day for Ohio high school athletes and the healthcare providers on the sidelines.

That’s because the new practice act for athletic trainers went into effect.

Two years ago, Local 12's Athletes AT Risk project first discovered Ohio’s law hadn’t been updated in nearly three decades.

Since then, we followed every step of the bill’s process from committee meetings to the floor of the House and Senate to an eventual signing by the governor.

The law modernizes the practice act for athletic trainers, which governs the care an athletic trainer can provide on the sidelines that they are already educated and trained to give, like providing an inhaler to an athlete

The previous version of the law prohibited things like:

• Athletic trainers injecting an EpiPen during an allergic reaction or any other kind of injectable medicine. Under the new law, an athletic trainer can inject unless it's in a bone or joint.
• Athletic trainers giving athletes medicine like ibuprofen.
• Athletic trainers taping a visiting team member

Here are all the steps the bill took this General Assembly:

• Practice act signed by Gov. Mike DeWine
• Practice act awaits governor’s signature
• Practice act passes out of state senate
• Athletic trainer bill voted out of Senate health committee
• Athletic trainer bill gets first hearing with Senate health committee
• Ohio House unanimously approves bill to update athletic trainer law
• Ohio House Bill 176 introduced to legislature