Ohio Dominican University (ODU) is proud to announce a new partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to provide exceptional sports medicine services and education to student-athletes.
The two-year, comprehensive partnership will meet needs both on the playing field as well as in the classroom.
Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine will provide two full-time employees to the University; a certified and licensed athletic trainer and a dually credentialed/licensed athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist. The Athletic Trainers will be part of a team providing a wide area of expertise to the ODU athletes, coaches and staff. Their services will include initial injury management and rehabilitation, training optimization, injury prevention, concussion management and coordination of care with the Sports Medicine and Orthopedics specialists of Nationwide Children’s. The entire team will work with ODU staff to provide state-of-the-art and comprehensive Sports Medicine services to all of the student athletes.
In addition to providing services from Sports Medicine and Orthopedic specialists, Nationwide Children’s will also provide a sports nutritionist for one-on-one consultations and group programming with students on ODU’s campus, plus Sports Medicine and Orthopedic physicians for the ODU athletic events, including Varsity and Junior Varsity football coverage.
Off the field, Nationwide Children’s will help develop a Black & Gold Athletics Wellness Promotion Speakers Bureau where guests will visit campus and speak on a variety of health-related topics. Plus, for each year of the partnership, Nationwide Children’s will grant four academic scholarships, each amounting to $1,000, to students who have declared an interest in pursuing a career in health care. Nationwide Children’s will also support the ODU Black & Gold Club as well as partner with ODU to offer a general Community Wellness Program to assess and meet the local community health needs.
Nationwide Children’s is also playing an important role by supporting ODU’s new Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program. This program is the first of its kind in Central Ohio. Nationwide Children’s will provide a lecturer on chosen topics for the PA program and will discuss and facilitate internship opportunities at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for PA students.
“We are extremely excited about this new partnership with Ohio Dominican University,” said Thomas Pommering, DO, medical director of Sports Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Athletes are constantly pushing themselves to reach their full athletic potential, so it is imperative they have access to a comprehensive team of specialists dedicated to the care and management of competitive, collegiate athletes.”
“We are committed to offering the finest in education to every student who enrolls at Ohio Dominican University and this exciting partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital gives our students the opportunity to learn from leaders in the field of Sports Medicine,” said Dr. Peter Cimbolic, President at Ohio Dominican University. “In addition to offering our student-athletes the very best care on the field, this partnership will put resources at our students’ fingertips that will help them develop skills and knowledge they’ll utilize for the rest of their lives.”
Ohio Dominican University is a four-year private liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican tradition. The University has approximately 2,700 students and offers undergraduate degrees in 42 majors as well as seven graduate degree programs. Ohio Dominican uses a student-centered approach, with a commitment to quality teaching and learning.
Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine includes a staff of physicians, surgeons, athletic trainers and physical therapists who are all trained to provide age-appropriate patient care to recreational, competitive and elite athletes. In addition to treatment, Nationwide Children’s offers a comprehensive program focused on research, education, injury prevention, strength and conditioning and wellness.