Press Release

Mount Sinai Serves as Official Medical Services Provider and Advisor on COVID-19 Safety for Athletes at 2020 US Open

Frontline Workers from Across Health System to Be Honored During Tournament

New York, NY
(August 31, 2020)

COVID-19 has caused the delay and cancellation of many professional sports and their seasons this year. Fortunately, the 2020 US Open Tennis Championships has pressed forward thanks to prevention strategies to decrease the risk for transmission of COVID-19 from a team of infectious disease experts, orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians and musculosketal radiologists at Mount Sinai Health System who have collectively helped create a comprehensive health plan to guide athletes in safely playing at this year’s tournament. Mount Sinai will serve as the official medical services provider for the eighth consecutive year at the tournament, which begins on Monday, August 31, and run through Sunday, September 13. The Mount Sinai team is providing around the clock care for athletes onsite at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Grounds in Flushing, New York. Through the relationship with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), Mount Sinai also treated athletes during the 2020 Western & Southern Open, a tournament usually held in Cincinnati that was relocated this year to New York in order to limit player travel and minimize risk of infection.

As Chief Medical Officer of the US Open Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, Professor in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and team physician for the U.S. Fed Cup Team, will lead care for the athletes during the US Open.. Due to unprecedented times during the COVID-19 pandemic, the championship games are moving forward without on-site spectators for the first time ever.

“I’m proud to lead a team of Mount Sinai physicians who are not only sports medicine specialists, but many of whom also served on the frontlines of the pandemic,” said Dr. Colvin. “Mount Sinai’s team of multidisciplinary sports medicine experts look forward to continuing the tradition of providing exceptional care for professional athletes during the tournament.”

In addition to orthopedic, radiology, dermatology, acupuncture and sports medicine services, Mount Sinai physicians are providing guidance to the USTA on infection control in efforts to create a safe and physically-distant environment for players and staff. Mount Sinai is providing COVID-19 testing for USTA employees traveling from out of state.

“A herculean effort has been put in by everyone involved to create the controlled environment for all the athletes and their support teams. The first requirement was for the New York Region to be in phase 4 of reopening and so the residents of New York helped in making this possible. We also are grateful to all the public health officials who have assisted and advised us on our protocols,” said Bernard Camins, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention, Mount Sinai Health System; and Professor of Medicine (Infectious Disease), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “The USTA staff has accomplished an incredible feat in just a few months. Being an avid tennis fan, I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with such an outstanding organization.”

New this year, Ralph Lauren, the Official Outfitter of the US Open, will honor 150 frontline workers from the Mount Sinai Health System by featuring their names on the backs of each ballperson’s uniform during match play. Profiles and stories of Mount Sinai health care workers will be spotlighted on Ralph Lauren’s website and social media channels. Each Mount Sinai hero who is represented on a uniform throughout the tournament will receive a uniform polo shirt of their own.

The USTA will also recognize frontline workers from across the world as “Healthcare Champions,” including heroes from Mount Sinai. These frontline workers will be featured during the Virtual Coin Toss before the start of the first match of each evening session, which will air on ESPN to 200 countries around the world.

This is the sixth consecutive year the Department of Radiology at Mount Sinai is offering diagnostic ultrasound examinations to players to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries, expanding the service to two remote units at the US Open to accommodate growing requests from athletes. Mount Sinai radiologists use the latest in technology during imaging consultations including the GE LOGIQ e ultrasound device to diagnose injuries, and the CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray System, a portable machine that obtains X-rays of the chest, pelvis, spine and extremities. If MRIs are needed, the players will be sent to The Mount Sinai Hospital and images will be directly reviewed at the US Open with a remote radiology workstation.

Mount Sinai goes beyond providing onsite 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.

In addition to Dr. Colvin and Dr. Camins, Mount Sinai physicians supporting the 2020 US Open include:

Lisa Anthony, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor in Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Shawn Anthony, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; medical director for Broadway shows

Carlos Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging, Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s; and Associate Professor of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Jeffrey Ciccone, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Houman Danesh, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Rehabilitation & Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Etan Dayan, MD, Assistant Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

James Gladstone, MD, Chief of the Sports Medicine Service, Mount Sinai Health System; and Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Melissa Leber, MD, Director of Emergency Department Sports Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Kevin Munjal, MD, MPH, MSCR, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Trevor Pour, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Christopher Reverte, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Aruna Seneviratne, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Eric Small, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Orthopedics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Tags: Emergency Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Orthopedics, Patient Care, Sports & Regenerative Medicine, Sports Medicine

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.

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