As March Madness, the NCAA’s basketball tournament, heads toward its finish in early April, the sports medicine teams at SSM Health can take pride in their role in the process.
Teams of physicians and athletic trainers from SSM Health’s ministries in both St. Louis and Oklahoma City were selected by the NCAA to lead medical efforts during preliminary games in the tournament.
“We provide athletic trainers and physicians – both primary-care sports medicine and othopedic sports medicine – as well as X-ray services and access to our hospital services on our campuses,” said Katie Smith, clinical operations manager and athletic trainer for SSM Health Sports Medicine, who coordinated medical care for the St. Louis tournament games.
During the events, the SSM Health teams rotate and work different shifts. Some stay courtside, ready to assist if a player sustains an injury during the game. Others work in the training room, where the X-ray machine and other medical supplies are available for whatever needs may arise.
“We have had instances where student-athletes get hurt during the game,” Smith said. “We’re able to X-ray them mid-game in our medical room, evaluate them and then make those return-to-play decisions on site.”
The SSM Health physicians and trainers—about 25 in all—donate their time and work in tandem with each basketball team in the tourney, which typically has a sizable medical team of its own. But the SSM Health team is a resource for the NCAA regardless of what happens during the games.
During the St. Louis tournament, “we had several dental emergencies that we handled, as well as a staff member who needed emergency surgery,” Martin said.
The rigor of the NCAA tourney is not a novelty for the SSM Health teams. The Oklahoma sports medicine team provides care for several university teams in and around Oklahoma City, while the St. Louis contingent is the regular medical team for the Saint Louis University Billikens sports teams. Although the Billikens basketball team qualified for the NCAA tourney, their game was played in New York, with an SSM Health sports medicine physician traveling with the team.
“Being selected by the local organizing committees to support March Madness is a testament to the expertise, preparation and commitment of our orthopedic and sports medicine teams,” said Kiana Nieves, Director of Orthopedic and Podiatry Service Lines at SSM Health Medical Group in Oklahoma City. “Our clinicians take great pride in delivering high-quality, seamless care so student athletes can compete safely at the highest level.”
The SSM Health St. Louis staff also was recently the home medical team for the U.S. Olympics figure skating trials when they were held in St. Louis a couple months ago, working up close with skaters who would go on to become Olympic gold medalists. The NCAA presented the SSM Health St. Louis medical team with the backup game ball as a thank-you for its professional work during March Madness. Smith says she and the SSM Health team were honored by that gesture.
“But the best part,” she added, “is watching these kids’ dreams come true.”
