MARQUETTE - The Marquette Sports Medicine Institute, a collaboration between Orthopaedic Associates of Marquette and Marquette General Health System, aims to help athletes get back on their feet.
The institute, which comprises doctors and medical experts from MGH and Orthopaedic Associates, was unveiled in January during the Noquemanon Ski Marathon.
Dr. Bryan Dixon, who is employed by MGH but works out of Orthopaedic Surgery Associates offices, said the aim of the institute is to collect all the expertise of the area's physicians and athletic trainers into one organization.
"What we're really trying to do is not only consolidate the services so it's easier to access more patients in the community but also over time to improve relationships and grow the amount of services offered," Dixon said.
The institute would also help patients find the right doctors or trainers and help navigate them through the "sometimes complex and confusing health care system," Dixon said.
He said the term sports medicine was a little misleading.
"Yes, we work with elite athletes from the Olympics to Division I hockey to the high school varsity athletes, but we also work with recreational athletes and just active people in the community," he said.
The institute specializes in non-operative orthopaedics, surgical operations on muscle or skeletal injuries.
"Anything from acute, traumatic injuries to overuse and chronic injuries, to more subtle things like athlete's foot, asthma, concussions, performance issues," Dixon said.
With it's collaborative, team-based, multi-disciplinary approach, Dixon hopes the institute will speed up the process of evaluation and treatment. Dixon said the Marquette area, with the United States Olympic Education Center, Division I hockey program, Northern Michigan University and a large number of high schools, is well suited for a sports medicine institute.
Institute team members also go to sporting events at NMU and the high schools as well as community events like the Noquemanon and the Ore to Shore.
"On the sidelines, if someone has an injury or if, God forbid, an emergency, it's nice to have on-site care," Dixon said. "Certain sports and and certain events are more high risk than others so physicians aren't present at everything, but a fair amount."
Interest in the institute is rising, Dixon said, with it's Web site www.mqtsportsmed.com getting over 2,000 hits. As the institute grows, Dixon said he'd like to see more services offered.
"We're very interested in expanding into athletic development, performance enhancement and then increasing access to exercise physiology testing," he said.
Dale Moilanen, Chief Operating Officer of Orthopaedic Surgical Associates, said the depth and scope of services the institute can provide in Marquette is unmatched in the region.
