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 nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.