Virtua and Flyers team up on sports safety
Left to right: Jennifer Naticchia, MD, Virtua Sports Medicine Primary Care physician; Paul Kasper, Virtua Sports Medicine Coordinator; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Ian Laperriere; Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin; John Gray, MD, Virtua orthopaedic surgeon; and Bill von Leer, ATC, Lenape High School athletic trainer.
Philadelphia Flyers right winger Ian Laperriere and Virtua sports medicine experts discussed keeping student athletes safe from injuries during a seminar for parents, coaches and students.
The panel – which included Laperriere, as well as Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin; John Gray, MD, Virtua orthopaedic surgeon; Jennifer Naticchia, MD, Virtua Sports Medicine Primary Care physician; and Bill von Leer, ATC, Lenape High School athletic trainer -- discussed performance training, injury prevention and warning signs, and nutrition. The interactive format included questions and participation from the audience.
Fall is the perfect time to talk about sports injuries, with school back in session and student athletes back on the field. More than 3.5 million children under the age 14 are injured each year playing sports or recreational activities and nearly 775,000 of those are treated in hospital emergency rooms.
The free seminar was sponsored by Virtua, the official orthopaedic provider of the Philadelphia Flyers. Virtua offers total care to athletes of all ages at the Virtua Center for Sports Medicine in Voorhees.
As one of New Jersey’s largest health systems, Virtua helps people be well, get well and stay well through a comprehensive range of health care services. Services are delivered through three health and wellness centers, three fitness centers, four acute care hospitals, primary and specialty physician practices with more than 240 physicians, urgent care centers, seven ambulatory surgery centers, home health services, two long-term care and rehabilitation centers, 12 paramedic units and a wide range of outpatient services. A leader in maternal and child health services, Virtua delivers almost 8,000 babies a year. Virtua also provides employment and wellness services to 1,700 businesses and corporations. An innovator in clinical and information technology such as electronic medical records, Virtua is recognized for its ground-breaking partnerships with
GE Healthcare,
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the
Fox Chase Cancer Center. It is the official orthopedic provider for the
Philadelphia Flyers. Virtua employs more than 8,400 people and has been honored as the #1 Best Place to Work in the Delaware Valley for seven consecutive years. It is the recipient of the Consumer Choice Award from the National Research Corporation. For more information, visit
www.virtua.org or
www.virtuabroadcastnetwork.org.