Morning Sun

CMU Athletics and Mymichigan Health announce sports medicine partnershi­p

- By Millie Jezior

Central Michigan University Athletics and Mymichigan Health have announced a new sports medicine partnershi­p.

As part of the multi-year partnershi­p, Mymichigan Health will provide CMU student-athletes with specialize­d sports medicine care and streamline­d access to comprehens­ive health care services.

“I am excited to announce this transforma­tional agreement between CMU Athletics and Mymichigan Health that will provide a medical support system that will rank among the best in the Mid-american Conference,” Amy Folan said, the Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics. “It will give our student-athletes access to Mymichigan’s vast network of medical providers and services to ensure that they can quickly and safely return to competitio­n after an injury. It will also allow us the resources to be a leader in injury prevention. I want to thank them for their vision, collaborat­ion and partnershi­p with us.”

The three-year partnershi­p is one of the largest for Central Michigan University Athletics and is expected to provide a cost savings of over $700,000 to the university annually with a total valuation of $2.1 million dollars.

“This new relationsh­ip with a regional healthcare system, Mymichigan Health, will provide a comprehens­ive menu of services to make sure our student-athletes medical needs are met, and they are well prepared to compete nationally,” said George E. Kikano, M.D., CMU vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “I have been impressed by the commitment to our local community shown by the Mymichigan leadership and look forward to our fu

ture alignment.”

In addition to CMU Athletics, Mymichigan Health has sports medicine collaborat­ions with Alma College, Mid Michigan College, the Great Lakes Loons, as well as more than 13 local high school athletic programs. Mymichigan also assists with sports medicine coverage during the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitation­al, the Dow Tennis Classic, and other local events.

It also boasts Wellsport, the area’s only primary

care sports medicine program.

“We’re proud to become the official sports medicine provider for CMU studentath­letes and we look forward to providing them with high-quality sports medicine and orthopedic services,” said Marita Hattem-schiffman, F.A.C.H.E., C.P.M.S.M., president, Mymichigan Medical Centers in Alma, Clare and Mt. Pleasant. “In addition to sports medicine care, this partnershi­p will also focus on student-athlete safety, such as concussion testing and injury prevention. We are committed to our purpose of creating healthy communitie­s together and this partnershi­p enables us

to extend our care to student-athletes.”

Through the agreement, Mymichigan will provide sports medicine oversight led by fellowship-trained Primary Care Sports Medicine Specialist AJ Pinney, D.O. Other members of this experience­d comprehens­ive team include fellowship-trained Primary Care Sports Medicine Specialist­s J.T Pinney, M.D., Daniel Diaz, D.O., and Richard Giannotti, Jr., D.O.; fellowship-trained Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeons Sabin Shah, M.D., Teresa Hall, D.O., Denise Stadelmaie­r, D.O., and Benjamin Cox, D.O.; Orthopedic Surgeon James Ware, D.O., and Riley Bell, P.A.-C.; fellowship-trained

Hand Surgeon Curtis Young, M.D., M.S.; fellowship-trained Pain Medicine Specialist Spencer Bertram, D.C., M.D.; and Physical Medicine and Rehabilita­tion Specialist Stephanie Goggin, M.D., D.P.T. Additional­ly, Sports Psychiatry Thomas Bills, M.D., will be available to treat and prevent mental health disorders in athletes.

“Together, our shared objective is to create an exceptiona­l student-athlete experience, by developing a sustainabl­e sports medicine program which exceeds the health care expectatio­ns of the student athletes,” said Folan and Hattem-schiffman.

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