Akron Children’s Hospital, University of Akron announce sports-health partnership, plans for new sports health center

 Akron Children’s Hospital and the University of Akron have penned a multi-year agreement that makes the hospital the official sports health provider for Akron Zips Athletics.

The agreement also calls for Akron Children’s Hospital to develop a new sports health center on the University of Akron campus, the hospital announced.

“The Akron Children’s Sports Health Center for Zips Athletics will be a comprehensive sports medicine facility within the University of Akron athletics complex,” said Akron Children’s Hospital President and CEO Chris Gessner in a news release. “The center will not only serve student-athletes but also the entire university community of students, faculty and staff. In addition, it will be a destination sports injury evaluation and treatment facility for the community at large.”

The sports health center is slated to be completed by early-to-mid 2023. The center will feature sports medicine, orthopedics and sports physical therapy clinics. Plans for the center call for an agility area, throwing wall, concussion treatment room, imaging suite for X-rays, weights and sports equipment, aqua therapy and a cast-treatment area, according to the hospital.

“It is extremely exciting to enter into a partnership with one of the nation’s premier health care organizations and one of Akron’s most trusted healthcare providers,” said University of Akron President Gary L. Miller in the release. “Not only will our student-athletes have access to world-class sports medicine, but the new sports health center will offer these services to benefit the entire Akron community.”

The agreement features leading Akron Children’s experts, and the university is optimistic about the partnership’s ability to create paths for new research and service opportunities for the university and the hospital, Miller said.

Akron Children’s practitioners leading the team include:

• John Polousky, M.D., who will serve as the lead team orthopedic surgeon. Throughout his career, Polousky has performed thousands of arthroscopic surgical procedures including anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), complex shoulder, knee, elbow and ankle procedures. He was chosen to serve on the ACL Clinical Practice Guideline Committee by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons to write national guidelines on caring for patients with ACL injuries, according to the release.
• Derrick Eddy, M.D., who will serve as the sports medicine medical director and team physician. Eddy has provided sideline coverage for University of Akron football and training room coverage since 2016. He has also served as team physician at Walsh University, Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College, according to the release.
• Cortney Myer, a board-certified physical therapist and sports clinical specialist, who serves as Akron Children’s lead physical therapist for the University of Akron Sports Medicine Program and a university adjunct faculty member, according to the release.

“Our orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, athletic trainers and physical therapists have extensive experience in working with college, professional and elite-level athletes,” Gessner said in the release. “In addition to caring for physical injuries, we will offer complementary services to focus on the overall wellness and health of the student-athlete.”