COMP Alumnus Lauded for Education Contributions
Dr. James Lally (top row, second from the right) joins other 2011 San Bernardino County Education Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Award recipients. Photo courtesy of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.
Chino Valley Medical Center President and Chief Medical Officer James Lally, DO, MMM, is one of six winners of the 2011 San Bernardino County Education Medal of Honor, which recognizes positive contributions in educating youth.
Dr. Lally, a 1991 alumnus of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, has partnered with Chino Hills Unified School District since 1994, when Mike West, then athletic trainer at Ayala High School, asked him to help.
“That introduction got the ball rolling,” Dr. Lally said. “We have provided the pre-participation physicals for the high schools over the past 17 years, charging $20 and returning nearly all of it back each year to the athletic trainers to help take care of the student athletes. It was estimated at one time that we have provided nearly $500,000 worth of coverage and monetary support over the many years we have been working together.”
Chino Valley Medical Center physicians are on the sidelines at each home game during the football season, and they also attend other sports, Dr. Lally said.
“Supporting athletics is important, but equally important is making parents and staff feel that the students are being treated appropriately and are being protected,” he said. “Having a physician on the sideline who has been trained to deal with acute injuries provides an immense sense of support. My doctors are all trained in the stabilization and management of the football helmet with head and/or neck injury, which has made important impact over the years, possibly contributing to a situation at Chino Hills High School that saved a young man’s life.”
Dr. Lally is one of six winners of the Education Medal of Honor. The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools has honored community leaders with the Education Medal of Honor for 20 years. Recipients of the award were announced and recognized at a banquet on April 25, 2011 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Victorville.
Dr. Lally, who won in the Partners in Education/Small Business or Franchise category, also developed the Health Sciences Academy at Chino Hills High School. Students gain valuable insight into the health care professions by interning at Chino Valley Medical Center.
“Seeing what goes on in the hospital setting allows young people to see that it is not all glamour and action like on television and that the hospital is not all about doctors and nurses, that many other people are very important to keeping a hospital functioning,” Dr. Lally said. “The hospital is the sole community provider and we are very privileged to be in a city and near a city that not only lets us help and participate with them in various activities, but recognizes us as a partner.”
Click here for more information about the San Bernardino County Education Medal of Honor.
