The Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey (ATSNJ) and Christina Emrich were honored during the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 2021 Awards Ceremony. The awards highlighted legislative efforts made by the ATSNJ and Christina Emrich. The State of New Jersey has routinely been acknowledged as being on the forefront of student-athlete safety. In 2021, New Jersey was ranked number one for State High School Sports Safety Policy by the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI).
ATSNJ received the 2021 NATA Dan Campbell Legislative Class II Award. This award is given to state athletic training associations who have undertaken activities aimed at keeping athletic training “on the radar screen” of legislators.
Christina Emrich was named the 2021 NATA William T. Griffin Award recipient for her legislative leadership. This award is given to NATA members who demonstrate leadership over their careers and motivate others to increase political involvement. Christina played an instrumental role in passing three New Jersey secondary schools health and safety policies: Heat Participation Policy, Emergency Action Plan Policy, and Concussion Policy.
“Working collaboratively with state legislators is essential to ensuring patient safety. Christina Emrich has been invaluable to the ATSNJ and its efforts in passing safety legislation,” said Jessica Springstead, President of the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey, Inc.
ATSNJ collaboratively works with the Kaufman Zita Group on meaningful legislation to improve patient safety. The ATSNJ would like to congratulate the Kaufman Zita Group on contributing to these awards!