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Mustang Travel Sports Club U10 baseball team taking home the title of Wooden Bat Challenge Tournament Champions from Chester, NY. The team along with their siblings and friends were all screened for Cardiac issues through the Matthew J. Morahan III Center for Athletes at Saint Barnabas. The team, parents and coaches strongly suggest that other teams contact the Center to get screened. |
Livingston, NJ – The Matthew J. Morahan III Health Assessment Center for Athletes at the Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center, 200 South Orange Avenue, Livingston recently hosted the eight-year-old and ten-year-old Mustang Club teams from Mountainside, NJ. Some of their siblings and friends of the teams were invited to participate with them as they received cardiac screenings from the Center.
The teammates were greeted by Certified Athletic Trainers and Administrators from the Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center to present to them about the importance of hydration in sports and correct stretching techniques. The cardiac screening portion included an extensive family history, personal medical history along, an EKG and blood pressure screening.
The cardiac screening is setup at the Matthew J. Morahan III Center for young athletes aged six to 18 years old. When preliminary testing to identify serious cardiac problems is provided to young athletes, sudden cardiac arrest and tragic deaths may be avoided. 90%of sudden cardiac deaths in young athletes occur during or after athletic activities. Hidden heart conditions are often the cause. The screenings will help to identify players who may require further testing or intervention.
Jerry Eicke, parent of a 10-year old participant and a member of the team board remarked, “As a parent with a child going from sport to sport and hearing about other kids having issues on the field, we really didn’t know where to go until we heard about the Matthew J. Morahan Center. It was a simple process and inexpensive for the relief it gave us. Not only does this give us the chance to get our kids screened, but it also enables us to show other teams how easy it is to get this screened and save lives.”
The Mustang Club teams consist of 8-year-olds and 10-year-olds mostly from Mountainside, NJ traveling to compete in both baseball and soccer. Recently the Mustangs 10-year old baseball team took home the title of Wooden Bat Challenge Tournament Champions the first weekend in May from Chester, NY.
Mr. Eicke also remarked, “We were happy to work with Saint Barnabas in getting the entire team screened and we encourage other teams and clubs to do the same. The entire process was seamless and for the kids and parents it is a huge sigh of relief to know even if there is an issue, it can be identified before there is a serious problem.”
“It gave us such peace of mind to have each of our children not only checked out, but also greeted nicely and educated while we waited. Afterwards we were able to give the full report to our Pediatrician for future reference,” said Lisa Bruno, school nurse at Beechwood School in Mountainside and parent of three of the 38 children screened.
The Matthew J. Morahan III Health Assessment Center for Athletes provides education, evaluation and assessment of sports injury and sports-related cardiac screenings and concussion base-line tests. The Saint Barnabas Health Care System serves and cares for more pediatric patients than any other health care organization in New Jersey; this program furthers our long-standing commitment to the health and well-being of children and young adults.
Screenings are a minimal charge and a parent or guardian is asked to be present. For more information about the Matthew J. Morahan III Health Assessment Center for Athletes, please visit our website at www.saintbarnabasfoundation.org/morahanmemorialfund
or call 973.322.7913.
ABOUT MATTHEW J. MORAHAN III
Before finding his true athletic calling on the links, MatthewJ. Morahan III participated in little league, recreational football, and swimming. In addition to becoming a golfer, Matthew went on to be an enthusiastic sports viewer as well as a devoted runner. To ensure child athletes can safely enjoy the same experiences Matthew did, his family and friends helped to create the Matthew J. Morahan III Memorial Health Assessment Center for Athletes. Young athletes can be screened for otherwise undetectable brain and heart conditions at minimal or no cost.
Date: June 9, 2011
Contact: Angela Kessler
Director Public Relations & Marketing
Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center
973-322-7327
akessler@barnabashealth.org
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