Mount Sinai Named Official Medical Service Provider for USA Fencing Team
For the first time, Mount Sinai Health System has been named the official medical service provider for USA Fencing. Physicians from the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance are playing a key role in preparing athletes in the USA for national and international competitions, including the upcoming 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
For the first time, Mount Sinai Health System has been named the official medical service provider for USA Fencing. Physicians from the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance are playing a key role in preparing athletes in the USA for national and international competitions, including the upcoming 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
“COVID has changed the world of sports, and sports medicine, and we experienced it firsthand as a team. It has been a privilege seeing these athletes through COVID exposures and infections and being able to clear them to compete again. I have seen them overcome the struggles of a global pandemic alongside their athletic injuries, and I could not be more proud to have been part of this journey with them,” says Mariam Zakhary, DO, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Their determination to work with us to get better is unlike anything I have experienced before, and I have no doubt this same resilience will bring them success in Tokyo.”
Under the partnership with USA Fencing, Mount Sinai Physicians travel with the team to most national and international competitions. They provide medical advice to athletes and coaches by collaborating with team trainers on treatment of sports injuries, injury prevention, and ways to enhance athlete’s sports performance. Additionally, Mount Sinai experts, including infectious disease doctors have helped guide new safety measures to protect the health and safety of participants at competitions sanctioned by USA Fencing during COVID-19. This includes masking guidelines, limiting of screaming during matches, and saluting after a match instead of handshakes. Additionally, Mount Sinai physicians are working with USA Fencing to collect data and design new protocols to keep athletes safe and healthy so they can achieve extraordinary outcomes.
“We are excited to partner with USA Fencing and offer world class, comprehensive care and expert guidance to these incredible athletes and we can’t wait to watch everyone’s hard work pay off at the Olympics,” says Joseph Herrera, DO, the Lucy G. Moses Professor and System Chair for the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance for the Mount Sinai Health System. “Our talented staff have been providing onsite medical care at national and international events for these competitors. Besides caring for the athletes, our team has been integral in safe event management during the pandemic. We have been involved with the USA Fencing administration in Colorado Springs to discuss everything from the use of masks, pre-competition testing, vaccinations, and disinfecting equipment to keep our athletes, and officials safe.”
"USA Fencing is excited to have Mount Sinai as a partner," said USA Fencing CEO Kris Ekeren. "Keeping our fencers safe and healthy is important to the organization. The expertise of Mount Sinai's physicians is an incredible benefit to our athletes and fencing community."
USA Fencing’s partnership with Mount Sinai runs through December, 2021.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2023-2024.
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