PRIVIT to Assist in Health History Effort
May 16, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has announced an agreement with PRIVIT to streamline the process for the management and collection of physical health history and consent forms required for participation in high school sports. The MHSAA has designated PRIVIT’s solution, called Privit Profile, as the electronic alternative to paper forms beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
Migrating the paper process to Privit Profile will help high schools better facilitate the process of collecting personal health history information from athletes, and it will save time and costs associated with managing the paper process.
Privit Profile includes the MHSAA’s health history questionnaire and is built on PRIVIT’s patented, secure, and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant technology. The additional MHSAA forms also are included in the implementation and provide MHSAA member schools the flexibility to further tailor Privit Profile to their process. Taking the paper-based process and transitioning it online will provide athletic trainers and coaches more time to focus on Michigan’s student-athletes.
Within Privit Profile, parents of student-athletes easily complete the medical history questionnaire and take printed copies to the student-athlete’s physical exam. In subsequent years, parents only will have to update the information in Privit Profile, as opposed to completing all of the paper-based forms again.
“It has become necessary for increased detail in the requirements to participate in school sports,” said MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts. “We desire more comprehensive health histories for students and more education of parents and students regarding the risks of participation, as well as the intangible rewards of competing in educational athletics. Streamlining for collection and storage of documents is a priority.”
Gathering more detailed Health Histories – including an upgrade of the previous pre-participation physical form – was the first focus of the ongoing MHSAA 4 H’s of Health and Safety effort taken up before the start of the 2009-10 school year (the other three H’s stand for Heads, Heat and Hearts).
The MHSAA will begin rolling out Privit Profile throughout local high school athletic departments beginning this month. Use of Privit Profile by schools is voluntary.
“As the importance of pre-screening athletes continues to sweep the nation, more and more state high school athletic associations are adopting Privit Profile to better manage student-athlete health information,” said Jeffrey Sopp, CEO of PRIVIT. “We are excited to be partnering with MHSAA and to be able to provide Privit Profile to schools and participants in Michigan for the 2016-17 school year. We’re looking forward to helping MHSAA member high schools and improving a manual process for years to come.”
PRIVIT® was established in 2009 and provides cloud-based patented technology for the collection, distribution, and analysis of personal health information. Considered a world-class leader in electronic pre-participation evaluations, Privit Products offer clients a more secure and standard method for acquiring and sharing the personal health information required for participation in organized sports and activities. With offices in London, Ontario and Columbus, Ohio, PRIVIT® fosters lasting relationships with physicians, athletic trainers, sports medicine organizations and international sports teams. To learn more about PRIVIT® and its Products, visit www.privit.com.
8 Members Elected, 2 Appointees Named to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 1, 2021
Eight Members of the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association have been re-elected to continue their service, and a ninth member has been re-appointed for a second team while a second appointee joined the Council beginning with its annual Fall Meeting on Dec. 4.
All eight re-elected members ran unopposed. Continuing their service as elected members of the Council are Midland High School athletic director Eric Albright, representing Class A and B schools from the northern section of the Lower Peninsula; Portage Northern High School athletic director Chris Riker, Class A and B schools from the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula; Brighton High School athletic director John Thompson, Class A and B schools from the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula; Calumet assistant principal and athletic director Sean Jacques, Class C and D schools from the Upper Peninsula; and Maple City Glen Lake assistant principal and athletic director Mark Mattson, Class C and D schools from the northern section of the Lower Peninsula.
Also elected to continue in their service were Grand Haven Area Public Schools assistant superintendent Scott C. Grimes as one of two statewide at-large representatives, Clare Middle School principal Steve Newkirk as one of two junior high/middle school representatives, and the Archdiocese of Detroit’s director of physical education & athletics Vic Michaels to represent private and parochial high schools. All eight were elected to two-year terms.
Additionally, Novi High School principal Nicole Carter was re-appointed for a two-year term. Appointed for a first two-year term was Judy Cox, who serves as principal at Bay City Western High School.
Grimes was re-elected as Council president, Newkirk as vice president and Michaels as secretary-treasurer all to serve through the 2021 Fall Meeting.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee. The Council meets three times annually, in addition to specially-scheduled meetings as have been frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. West Iron County principal, athletic director and football coach Mike Berutti was elected to represent athletic coaches, and Lake Linden-Hubbell athletic director and boys basketball coach Jack Kumpula was elected to represent Class D schools.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.