The Voice of the Aggies, Andrew Monaco, sits down Texas A&M's Director of Sports Medicine Dr. JP Bramhall to discuss the return of student-athletes to campus on the latest episode of Conversations.
Conversations is a part of Studio 12, the official Texas A&M Athletics Podcast. Studio 12 is driven by your Texas Ford Dealers. Click here to subscribe for free.
Â
Â
A portion of the conversation is below.
Andrew Monaco: My understatement of the day is going to be that it's been quite an eventful last two and a half months or so, hasn't it?
This has been of course, in all of our lifetimes, something that has been number one, unexpected and number two, so challenging...because we are evolving each and every day about our decision making. We don't know what the next day is going to hold. And each and every day brings new challenges and new information and new ideas, so we have to be on our toes in preparation.
How important was it to have the leadership of a Ross Bjork, the Director of Athletics, a Michael Thompson, the Deputy AD, and the entire athletics department at Texas A&M...to be so forward thinking and bring people like you in and and get that advice, that forward thinking, that playing out of the scenario--that allows us, along with the conference, to say that student-athletes can come back on June 8? After all that happened, I really think if you don't have that I don't know if we are prepared the way we're prepared...
As we were challenged by COVID, and the disease process and the uncertainty, we had to again be forward thinking and have the resources to be able to move in that direction. Under Ross Bjork's direction, and working very closely with Justin Moore, and Kristen Brown, and just all of our athletic training staff and sport science staff and strength conditioning staff, Ross gave us the resources to be a leader in this game. To be a leader in the return to activity. To be a leader in the return to campus. To be a leader in the medical care of our student-athletes. As usual, A&M, we did it right. And we are the school at which most schools are looking at to see how this goes. So we have jumped to the forefront, as usual. And then we are the ones that all schools are kind of basing their model upon.
I find that fascinating that throughout the SEC and other schools, other conferences, they really have asked Texas A&M if they may model themselves after what we did.
With our team, each of us in our area of expertise -- in medicine, in athletic training, in sports science, in strength and conditioning, in administration -- each area we researched. We made decisions. And we met frequently to determine the best course for the health and safety of our student-athletes and for the health and safety of our staff as we made the decision to take a leap of faith and start working toward getting everyone back on campus.
What can we expect on June 8 when the student-athletes are able to return?
So over the past several weeks, beginning on May 26, we started the process of testing all of our staff and student-athletes in preparation for their return to campus. Now our testing process involves both the nasal swab and a blood test to see if someone may have had the antibodies or a previous COVID infection. So we initially started the process with our staff that was returning to the office on June 1 and all of our student-athletes who are already here in rehab or for some other reason. Then on May 26, we had all of our new student-athletes return and the remaining 50% of our athletic department staff be tested. So the first testing round we tested about 74 to 75 staff and student-athletes. Last week, we tested 124. And as we speak right now, we are testing all of the returning student-athletes. And we are prepared this morning for 250 tests. And again, that test involves both active infection and for the possibility of past infection of COVID, with serology or blood testing. And our system is not perfect, but it is one to kind of give us a clean slate as we go forward, again for the protection of our student-athletes and our staff, as we kind of enter our buildings and our athletic facilities and begin the process of training again.
What will be some of the precautions and procedures for the student-athletes?
So once we have a clean slate and we no longer have to quarantine the student-athletes based on previous infection or current infection, each and every day a student-athlete, as they enter one of our training facilities, as they begin their voluntary participation, we will undergo a daily screen. And that screen involves a COVID screen that many of us may have encountered as we've entered hospitals or medical facilities, which is a series of questions regarding exposure, travel, friends or family who may have had the disease, or any personal symptoms of cough, fever, chills, sore throats, stuffiness, all the things that you would consider in a viral illness. And then after you've answered those questions, every person will undergo a temperature check. If the person passes that screen, then they will be admitted to our facility. And we have encouraged all staff and student-athletes to wear a mask in common areas to help mitigate the spread of this disease or exposure to one another. As the student-athlete works their way through each of our facilities, during their training time they will not have to wear a mask but our staff will continue to wear a mask just to do everything we can to mitigate and limit the spread of disease. We have really tried to do a great deal of education with our staff and student-athletes as far as maintaining social distancing and how important that is. Maintaining hygiene with frequent hand washings. Frequent use of hand sanitizers. Mitigating the spread of the disease. And just to make that part of your day each and every day before you come to the facility so that we can prevent an outbreak or a surge in the disease numbers.