LHSAA Announces Manning Family Children’s as its Official Healthcare Partner

As part of the statewide partnership, Manning Family Children’s will provide Athletic Trainers at LHSAA State Championship events across Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) is proud to announce Manning Family Children’s as the Official Healthcare Partner of the LHSAA. Through the partnership, Manning Family Children’s will provide certified athletic trainers at LHSAA state championship events, helping provide medical support and care for student-athletes competing for state championships throughout the year.

With the partnership, Manning Family Children’s will be recognized as a premier sponsor of all LHSAA state championship events and the Association’s broader communications initiatives throughout the year, while supporting the ongoing health, safety, and education needs of coaches and student athletes.

“This partnership is about much more than having a name on a sign,” said Eddie Bonine, LHSAA Executive Director. “At the end of the day, our responsibility is to provide the best possible championship experience for our student-athletes, and that includes making sure they have access to quality sports medicine care when they need it. Manning Family Children’s shares that commitment to Louisiana’s young people, and we are proud to have them alongside us.”

Manning Family Children’s brings a deep understanding of the unique needs of children, including young athletes. Its Orthopedic and Sports Medicine programs provide specialized care for children, adolescents, and teens with fracture care and sports injury needs, along with a complete range of complex pediatric orthopedic conditions.

The pediatric orthopedic experts at Manning Family Children’s are specially trained in growth, bone structure, and healing that can positively impact care and recovery. The team includes pediatric orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine specialists and certified athletic trainers who service more than 25 schools and recreational departments throughout the Southeast.

As part of the partnership, Manning Family Children’s athletic trainers will be present at LHSAA state championship events to assist with preventative care, emergency response, injury evaluation and other sports medicine needs, beginning this fall.

“As Louisiana’s #1 ranked children’s hospital, providing the best possible care for kids means taking our care, compassion and expertise into our communities, schools and neighborhoods,” said Lucio A. Fragoso, President and Chief Executive Officer of Manning Family Children’s. “As the official healthcare parter of LHSAA, our pediatric-trained orthopedic and sports medicine teams will work to keep student athletes well, both on and off the field. We are excited to support such an important organization, while enhancing the support offered to student athletes across the region.”

The partnership also carries a meaningful connection to the Manning family’s longstanding place in Louisiana athletics. That connection now comes full circle as the Manning family and former Children’s Hospital New Orleans began a transformational partnership with the hospital’s renaming to Manning Family Children’s in 2025. The hospital and Manning family share a deep commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of children throughout Louisiana and the Gulf South. The partnership with LHSAA is one more way Manning Family Children’s is working to deliver on that promise.

Manning Family Children’s is Louisiana’s only freestanding, comprehensive children's hospital, providing comprehensive pediatric care for children and adolescents, with more than 40 pediatric specialties, 600 pediatric providers, and a network of more than 30 pediatric primary and specialty care locations throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. Its Sports Medicine program offers specialized care designed specifically for growing athletes.

As the Official Healthcare Partner of the LHSAA, Manning Family Children’s will receive official recognition across LHSAA championship properties and events, including championship signage, public-address recognition, print and digital championship materials and other Association marketing opportunities. The partnership will also be visible throughout the LHSAA's championship calendar as the Association and Manning Family Children’s work together to support the health, safety and success of Louisiana’s student-athletes.

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About the LHSAA

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing leadership and governance for high school athletics and activities throughout Louisiana. Through its member schools, the LHSAA serves thousands of student-athletes across the state while promoting education, sportsmanship and opportunities for students to grow Beyond the Game.

About Manning Family Children’s

For more than 70 years, Manning Family Children’s has proudly served as Louisiana’s number one ranked, and only, freestanding comprehensive children’s hospital with more than 600 pediatric-trained providers and 3,000 employees solely dedicated to the care of kids. In addition to comprehensive services offered at its main campus in New Orleans, Children’s operates a robust network of more than 30 satellite locations, pediatric affiliations across Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and robust and long- community programs designed to meet the health needs of the diverse communities it serves. At the heart of its mission, Manning Family Children’s is committed to delivering expert care for every child, every time – regardless of the family’s ability to pay.