At the US Open, from left: James Gladstone, MD; Melissa Leber, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, and Emergency Medicine; Leesa M. Galatz, MD; Alexis Colvin, MD; and Aruna Seneviratne, MD, and Shawn Anthony, MD, each an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics.
Top orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, and musculoskeletal radiologists were courtside to help diagnose and provide rapid professional care to athletes in need of medical attention at the 2018 US Open Tennis Championships. It was the sixth consecutive year that Mount Sinai has served as the official medical services provider of the event, which was held over a two-week span in August and September in Flushing Meadows, Queens.
Alexis Colvin, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, led player care as the Chief Medical Officer of the 2018 US Open. “We treated not only the pros, but the juniors and wheelchair athletes, as well,” says Dr. Colvin, who is also the U.S. Fed Cup team physician.
An ad from Mount Sinai’s 2018 US Open ad campaign.
This year marked many tournament firsts for Mount Sinai, which hosted the first-ever “Mount Sinai Get Fit and Play” event for the 23rd annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, featuring fun, physical activities for youth. On hand to support the event were members of the sports medicine team and Leesa M. Galatz, MD, Mount Sinai Professor in Orthopedics and Chair of the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
“Promoting the sport of youth tennis as a means to stay fi t and healthy is a critical component of our partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA),” says James Gladstone, MD, Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System’s Sports Medicine Service, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US Open Player Physician, and U.S. Davis Cup team physician.
Also for the first time, Joseph Herrera, DO, Chair, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Human Performance, and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, along with a team of rehabilitation medicine specialists, participated in Community Day, hosting 32 Mount Sinai patients at the US Open Wheelchair Competition. There, they had a special courtside opportunity to experience the excitement of wheelchair tennis and meet players.
Two wheelchair stars—four-time Paralympic medalist and International Tennis Federation’s Quad World Champion, David Wagner, and Rio 2016 Paralympian Dana Mathewson—also visited Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, where they filmed a segment for KidZone TV, talking about their experience with the sport and its role in their rehabilitation. They later conducted a live demonstration of wheelchair tennis and basic tennis drills for Mount Sinai rehabilitation patients in the Guggenheim Pavilion Atrium, much to the delight of patients and spectators.
Wheelchair tennis stars David Wagner and Dana Mathewson showed their skills.
Mount Sinai radiologists, led by Carlos Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and Associate Professor of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine,were also onsite working closely with the team of Mount Sinai’s orthopedic sports medicine specialists. They provided players with immediate access to on-the-spot evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries. A portable, laptop-size ultrasound device made by GE Healthcare was used to diagnose musculoskeletal injuries. Also adding to their capabilities for the first time this year was a portable X-ray machine, the GE Optima 200, outfitted with a Konica Minolta Digital Detector providing high-definition digital images of the chest, pelvis, spine, or extremities that could be interpreted by radiologists onsite.
The Mount Sinai Health System also achieved another milestone during the tournament when it launched its first marketing campaign in support of its partnership with the US Open and the USTA Eastern Section. It included highly visible billboards in Lower Manhattan, ads in The New York Times Magazine, digital and social media displays, and ads on the Long Island Railroad, MetroNorth, and subway.
While the ads had a distinct tennis theme and reinforced Mount Sinai’s relationship with the US Open, they also conveyed the broad message that “Mount Sinai is a full-service health system that can not only treat your injury, but also treat the rest of your body.” In mid-October, Mount Sinai will launch a larger six-month ad campaign that will showcase its world renowned excellence in many other disciplines.
Children kept fit at Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.