Henry Mayo Helps Bring Back Friday Night Lights

After nearly a year, High School Football and other sports programs return to the Santa Clarita Valley. When High School athletes think of obstacles to playing a sport that they love, the first thoughts are usually that of broken bones, concussions, or bad grades. None of them could ever have imagined a global pandemic that would bring life as they’ve always known it to a screeching halt. This was the reality for students across the country, but March brought back a little hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for Santa Clarita area athletes.

As Los Angeles County moved into the red tier of reopening, high school sports were recently allowed to resume competing. Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s Urgent Care Department was tapped by district Superintendent Mike Kuhlman to provide COVID-19 testing to all athletes and coaches in the district’s seven area high schools. Urgent Care Supervisor Angie Luna said that, “The Urgent Care team provided on-site Antigen nasal swab tests with results in 10 minutes and a 94% accuracy rate.”

The testing program began in early March and football players were first in line as the season would be short beginning March 18 and ending April 16. However, students from all sports including volleyball, soccer, basketball, dance teams, etc. were also tested. “The program tested over 2,000 student athletes,” said Luna. The urgent care team visited and provided testing to all area high schools at least three times a week. Luna also said that, “The testing requirements changed on March 19 and based on new regulations, school officials were attempting self-swabbing to make the process easier, so the on-site testing ended. Therefore, students and coaches were offered testing at Henry Mayo’s Urgent Care Center on an as needed basis.”

The testing program was a huge success, and after a year of isolation, gave students a feeling of confidence in knowing that they could return to sports in a healthy safe environment. The Urgent Care team was proud to play a role in this new season of renewal. News of the program’s success recently led to College of the Canyons contracting the Urgent Care team to provide testing for all its athletes beginning April of 2021.

Henry Mayo Urgent Care is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., and closed on Sunday. A wide-range of services are offered to the community including treatment of various illnesses and injuries, COVID-19 testing, preoperative physical exams, laceration repair, IV hydration, X-ray, and more. For more information, please visit henrymayourgentcare.com, or call 661.200.2500. Walk-in visits are welcome!