The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has selected Marshfield Clinic as its exclusive sports medicine partner to care for 500-plus athletes and 20 teams.
Fellowship-trained sports medicine physicians from the Clinic Orthopedics Sports Medicine team are providing comprehensive medical care, ranging from physical examinations, treatment for broken bones, surgery and repair of injured joints. They'll staff on-campus orthopedic clinics and provide coverage during many sporting events at UW-Stevens Point.
Drs. Cristin Newkirk and Albert Cecchini, Clinic Sports Medicine physicians, will work regularly with the University's athletic training staff, holding sports medicine and orthopedic clinics on campus for student athletes. They'll be on the sidelines during home games for many sports, and also will staff the Marshfield Clinic Stevens Point Center, which opens this fall.
Cecchini, fellowship trained in sports medicine, is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in injuries common in a variety of sports. For him, helping an athlete get back to 100 percent is the ultimate achievement.
"I've played sports throughout my life, and I'm most interested in helping athletes through medicine," he said. "Working with athletes is so rewarding because they're highly motivated people who want to get back to their sports. It's great to see people through an injury and watch them return to 100 percent."
Newkirk, a primary care sports medicine physician, is a former Division III athlete and worked as a team physician for the University of Nevada during her fellowship training. An avid runner, skier and cyclist, Newkirk can treat and diagnose everything from a skin infection to injured joints.
"It's a tremendous honor to be able to care for UW-Stevens Point student athletes, because I know what they're going through," Newkirk said. "I can relate to the daily challenges they face, including injuries. I can't tell you how much time I spent in the trainer's room as a student-athlete, which is why I'll work tirelessly to keep all UWSP athletes healthy and safe."
Along with providing physician care and oversight, the Clinic will offer educational opportunities for UW-Stevens Point students and staff. Through the UW-Stevens Point Foundation, the Clinic will establish a scholarship for the athletic training program.
And because sports medicine continues to progress, Marshfield Clinic experts will provide guest lecturers for UW-Stevens Point trainers. Also, the Clinic intends to develop a one-year fellowship program in partnership with the UW-Stevens Point athletic training program to prepare trainers to work in outpatient sports medicine clinics.
"UW-Stevens Point already has a great educational program that prepares athletic trainers for the variety of injuries and scenarios they'll face once they enter the field," said Steve Hubler-Marti, a Marshfield Clinic administrator. "The Clinic wants to offer any additional educational opportunity it can to these students and trainers, so we can all work together to provide first-class care for every Pointer athlete."
The Marshfield Clinic system provides patient care, research and education with more than 50 locations in northern, central and western Wisconsin, making it one of the largest comprehensive medical systems in the United States.
