Call to action

Aloha HATA members,

As many of you have already heard, the Entry Level Graduate Athletic Training Education Program (EL-GATEP) at the UH-M is in danger of losing its' funding.  The program has a long history of value in the State of Hawaii.  It is the only accredited athletic training program in the state and 1 of 2 on the west coast. Regardless of where we graduated from, we have all benefited from the existence of the program.  I am humbly asking everyone to write a letter of support for the program.  Please focus on the positives of the program and the value of the program to the State of Hawaii.

Some key points are:

• Letter should be addressed to Nathan Murata, PhD.  Please email me all letters by Tuesday, 11/17.  I will give it to him when I meet with him the next day.
• The program is a revenue generator for the State.  In other words, the total income from tuition exceeds the cost of running the program.  Additionally, over 50% of its' students are ethnic minorities.
• The program has a graduation rate of 88%.  Seventy one percent of it's graduates pass the NATA BOC exam on their first attempt.  Compared to 40% nationally.
• It will be impossible to maintain the level of care in the State.  As part of the curriculum, the programs' students go into the community to do their clinical hours.  In addition to providing an educational opportunity for the students, it also fosters community support for the profession and the University.
• Through the combined efforts of the legislature and the DOE, Hawaii became a nationally recognized leader in providing appropriate athletic health care to all DOE secondary schools by funding positions for athletic trainers. At it's inception UH-M made a commitment to facilitate the EL program and was a key partner in this endeavor. Should the University drop this program, there would be a shortage of qualified applicants for future vacancies. This would be detrimental to the public schools and increased potential liabilities until staffing is complete.
• Since it was accredited in 2005, sixteen students have graduated.  Of those 7 are currently working in the State of Hawaii.  There are 23 students currently in the program and 12 students waiting to start the program.

This information is intended to be a starting point for you.  Please add in your own personal experiences.

The legislature has stated that it prefers the university cut programs rather than implement across the board cuts.  That means that to survive the program needs to be relevant to the entire state.  We all know how important the EL-GATEP is to health care in Hawaii.  It is our responsibility to demonstrate our value to the university.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks in advance for your support.