MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan University Athletics and MyMichigan Health are proud to announce 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 will 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 health-care 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 future 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 student-athletes 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.
About Central Michigan Athletics
Central Michigan Athletics Department is a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision institution and a member of the Mid-American Conference. The department is made up of 17 sports – baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, volleyball and wrestling. CMU Athletics supports more than 425 student-athletes through its three core pillars of the student-athlete experience, the fan experience and being leaders in the MAC. CMU is one of 12 Division I athletic department without a NCAA major infractions violation.
About MyMichigan Health
MyMichigan Health, a non-profit health system headquartered in Midland, Michigan, is a leader in providing award-winning, high-quality care to the 25-county region it serves. With Medical Centers in Alma, Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Sault Ste. Marie and West Branch, MyMichigan also has affiliations with Medical Centers in St. Ignace and Mackinac Island. MyMichigan Health provides a full continuum of care across a wide array of settings, including urgent care centers, home health, virtual care, as well as medical offices in more than 30 specialties and subspecialties including cardiology, family medicine, hematology/oncology, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, vascular surgery, and more. MyMichigan Health demonstrates its commitment to the future of medicine by partnering with leading institutions to offer medical education programs that train medical students, physicians, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students, nursing students and other clinical experts for our region. Its more than 8,800 employees, volunteers, health care providers and other personnel work together to create healthy communities through solutions designed to meet the ever-changing needs of the 981,000 residents in the health system’s 25-county service area. In fiscal year 2021, MyMichigan Health provided $78 million in community benefits, as well as supported its patients and families with new equipment, services and programs with funds raised by the MyMichigan Health Foundation.
