Foundation offers medical safety net to injured high school athletes

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Monday, June 11, 2007 10:53 AM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- It's been more than two years since former San Marcos High School student Adolfo Castellanos suffered a broken arm and tore two of four major ligaments in his right knee during a school wrestling tournament, he said Thursday.

Two major surgeries and months of physical therapy later, he can run again and plays recreational soccer. He is able to work, and has a full-time job at a local convenience store so he can help support his parents and sisters, said Castellanos, who is in his early 20s.

He said he owes his recovery to the San Diego Sports Medicine Foundation, a team of doctors, nurses and medical suppliers that provided him with reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.

The nonprofit organization brings together medical professionals from around the county to create a health safety net for low-income or uninsured high school athletes who suffer injuries while competing in sports.

"I am very happy and thankful they were there," Castellanos said.

Without the foundation's help, his future would have been very different, he said. "At my job, you gotta be lifting stuff, putting a lot of stress on my knees. Without surgery, I wouldn't be able to work."

The injury occurred in January 2005, at a high school wrestling tournament. At one point in his third match that day, he was thrown off the mat and when he landed. "I just heard a pop," he said.

After examining the teen, Encinitas orthopedist Greg Loren said he knew Castellanos would need surgery to repair his ligaments.

The high school senior was underinsured, making him a candidate for assistance from the foundation. Loren said that if Castellanos had had to pay for the surgery and associated costs, they would have run between $10,000 and $15,000.

Castellanos received a grant from the foundation, and Loren did his part by donating his services to operate on the young man's knee. After nearly a year of physical therapy and recuperation, he finally recovered, Castellanos said. Eighteen months later, he has a relatively active life, working hard and practicing sports on the weekends.

Without the surgery, the former wrestler might not be able to play soccer, climb stairs or lift things, Loren said.

"Adolfo is a bright kid, motivated ---- he wants to go to college," Loren said. "But say he wants and needs to be a laborer ... it would affect his whole economic future."

Castellanos went to Palomar College for a year and a half, but now he's working and "saving up some money to go back to school," the young man said.

Five years old

The San Diego Sports Medicine Foundation was a long time coming, founder and orthopedic surgeon David Chao said last week. He said that years ago, when he was in medical school, he heard about all the good things being done by U.S. physicians in Third World countries.

He hoped that one day he would be able to do something similar in the United States, he said.

He started doing surgery on disadvantaged and uninsured student athletes in the 1990s through his sports medicine practice, Oasis Management Services Organization.

But the surgeries were being performed wherever and whenever possible, he said, without a lot of organization. In 2002, he decided to start the foundation to create a more structured medical safety net for high school student athletes, Chao said.

The foundation has examined hundreds of student athletes for free at its Saturday morning clinics during football season. It has provided more than 30 free orthopedic surgeries, one of Chao's main collaborators, orthopedic surgeon Tal David, said last week.

Little by little, Chao enlisted other doctors, nurses and medical suppliers as volunteers or contributors, he said, adding that he currently has 12 doctors and 16 nurses collaborating in the program. And he's always looking for more, he added.

"We absolutely encourage other doctors in town to get involved and get the word out to coaches and families."

Loren was one such volunteer.

"We love it that he came to us, directed the kid this way and was willing to do the work," said Chao, whose company works under contract to the San Diego Chargers and the San Diego Shock Wave, an arena football team.

While some candidates for surgery are referred to the foundation by other doctors or coaches, most of the student-athletes are ferreted out when they show up for the free Saturday morning clinics, David said.

Falling 'through the cracks'

The process for deciding who the foundation will help is sometimes more complicated than it might seem, said physical therapist Ed Ayub, one of five foundation board members who decides who will receive help.

When a student needs the foundation's help, the athlete must submit a letter explaining his or her injury. Parents and coaches also generally submit letters explaining the student's needs.

Sports-related injuries are not covered by some medical insurance plans because certain injuries are not otherwise threatening to students' health, Ayub said.

"This is for people who fall through the cracks in our medical system," Ayub said. "This is their point of last resort."

After reviewing the requests, the letters and all pertinent information, the board votes and then "gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down," Ayub said.

He said that board members not only look at the family's finances but also review whether the student was carrying the mandatory minimum sports health insurance coverage sold by school districts, which would pay for part of the costs. If not, the board wants to know why, Ayub said.

Chao said that on the rare occasions when a student has been denied a grant, it generally was because of one of two things: The student was 18 or older, or the student had medical insurance that would pay the cost of the surgery. He said that over the last five years, the foundation has denied assistance to 10 or 12 students.

Chao said he believes there are students out there who may be in need of the foundation's help.

"If someone is in need, I would like to get the word out ---- we're here to help," Chao said.

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5426 or wbennett@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

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