Press Release

Mount Sinai to Serve as Official Medical Services Provider for Athletes at the 2016 US Open

New York, NY
(August 29, 2016)

Mount Sinai Health System orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, and radiologists will use the latest technology to care for athletes at this year’s US Open. This is the fourth year in a row that Mount Sinai is serving as the official medical services provider for the tournament.

For the first time at the US Open, radiologists will have advanced image-viewing workstations on hand to improve patient care, and ensure a quicker diagnosis. If players are injured and need to get imaging (such as MRIs) at The Mount Sinai Hospital or other nearby locations, the athlete’s physicians at the stadium can now have real-time access to those scans, and examine them with high-resolution monitors. They can also compare those images to the athlete’s previously uploaded scans from other health centers in their home countries. Radiologists will be able to rapidly diagnose injuries just minutes after a scan has been completed. Then trainers and doctors can immediately decide on the player’s treatment options, and if they can remain competitive during the tournament.

Doctors at the tournament will also use specialized ultrasound laptops with optimized imaging that were first introduced at last year’s tournament. Through these devices, physicians will help pinpoint, diagnose, and even treat sports-related injuries.

“This is one of the few major tennis events in the world that has full-time radiologists on site to provide these specific services,” said Carlos Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s. “Mount Sinai is leading the way in bringing technologies and medical expertise from the hospital into the field, and giving these elite athletes the absolute best care.”

“We are excited to have our highly trained musculoskeletal imagers in the field as members of the multidisciplinary team, equipped with the critical tools that they need to give a rapid and accurate diagnosis of player injuries,” said Alexander Kagen, MD, Site Chair, Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s.

Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, Associate Professor of Sports Medicine in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and team physician for the US Fed Cup Team, serves as the chief medical officer of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

“Mount Sinai is committed to using the latest technologies to give injured competitors timely, efficient and comprehensive care.” said Dr. Colvin. “The USTA and Mount Sinai share the common goals of providing top-level treatment to players at the US Open, along with promoting the physical, mental and social benefits of tennis as a lifelong sport.”

“Our physicians look forward to refining unique skills required to care for professional athletes at the US Open, and using this knowledge to better treat our year-round patients who participate in athletics,” said James Gladstone, MD, Co-Chief of the Sports Medicine Service at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine, medical advisor to the US Davis Cup tennis team, and consultant to the US Open.

Mount Sinai’s team of sports medicine experts goes beyond providing medical care at the US Open. Physicians have worked with the USTA since 2013 to develop programs in injury prevention, community tennis, and diversity, and to conduct educational outreach on tennis and health.

Technology for Fast Onsite Injury Diagnoses and Treatment

Radiologists from the Mount Sinai Health System will use the PACS workstation (Picture Archiving and Communication System) made by GE Healthcare to examine an injured player’s MRI scans immediately on site and view them with high-resolution medical monitors to assess progression of injury. This provides doctors with more complete information when giving players a direct consultation.

Mount Sinai radiologists will use the LOGIQ e, a portable, laptop-size computer made by GE Healthcare. It has special settings and probes to diagnose musculoskeletal injuries. The ultrasound machine will allow physicians to triage patients at the point of care and recommend more involved imaging techniques depending on the injury’s severity. If treatment is necessary, physicians will be able to do ultrasound-guided joint treatments at the stadium.

Mount Sinai US Open Physicians

Along with Drs. Colvin, Gladstone, and Benitez, other Mount Sinai physicians supporting the 2016 US Open will include:

Melissa Leber, MD, Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine, Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of Emergency Department, Sports Medicine, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West
Alex Maderazo, MD, Chief of Musculoskeletal Imaging at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Darren Fitzpatrick, MD, Site Chair of Radiology at Mount Sinai Queens, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Brian Neri, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai has worked closely with ProHEALTH Care Associates LLP, one of the largest physician group practices in the New York metropolitan area, to provide medical services at the US Open since 1997, a tradition that will continue this year. The ProHEALTH team is led by Elliot Pellman, MD, Medical Director of ProHEALTH Care Associates, and Clinical Professor of Medicine, Rheumatology, and Orthopaedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Brian Daniels, MD, will serve as the new Director of Player Medical Services for the US Open. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics at the Icahn School of Medicine.

About the USTA
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

Tags: Sports Medicine, Carlos L Benitez, MD, Alexis C Colvin, MD, James N Gladstone, MD, Alexander C Kagen, MD, Mount Sinai Health System, Patient Care

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 more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 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 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.