New division of HealthONE’s Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children family of hospitals focuses on adolescent athletic care and concussions

Denver (October 5, 2010)—HealthONE’s Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children announced today the opening of the new Youth Sports Medicine Institute at The Centennial Medical Plaza in Centennial, Colorado. The Institute will host a community open house Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to noon at their office at Centennial Medical Plaza at Dove Valley.

The Youth Sports Medicine Institute was founded and will be led by Dr. Brooke Pengel, Medical Director, and Dr. John Polousky, Surgical Director. The state-of-the-art facility is designed for the specialty care of student-athletes from when they begin playing sports thorough their teen years.

The facility has special radiology equipment, sports injury and performance research, as well as same-day availability for patient consultation. The Youth Sports Medicine Institute will focus on the major sports injuries such as torn ACL’s and pulled muscles to the more rare cases such as dislocated kneecaps.

“It is our goal to make this the best and most innovative adolescent sports medicine facility in the region,” said Dr. Pengel. “In addition to providing a full range of services to young athletes, our concussion research program rivals any in the nation for brain trauma care.”

The growing concern regarding the affect of head trauma for young athletes led to the development of the Concussion Management Program for Student-Athletes. The program will be led by Dr. Karen McAvoy, clinical psychologist and author of REAP (Reduce/Educate/Accommodate and Pace), a community-based concussion management and education model and was championed by Sue Kirelik, MD, from Sky Ridge Medical Center. The REAP model is the first in the nation of its kind and partners schools with hospitals and physicians to prevent the often serious side effects from concussions through education and support of teachers, coaches and school nurses.

Dr. Pengel is a board-certified physician with an additional certification in Sports Medicine. She received a Doctor of Medicine from the Connecticut School of Medicine and conducted her residency at the University of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and her Chief- Residency at Children’s Hospital in Denver.

Dr. John Polousky is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with a sub- specialty in orthopedic sports medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, completed a residency at The Cleveland Clinic and an orthopedic fellowship at the Children’s Hospital in Denver. He also has additional specialty training in complex limb reconstruction.

The community open house on Oct. 16 will provide members of the youth sports community a unique opportunity to look at how comprehensive services can help student athletes play injury free and reach their full potential. Dr. McAvoy, Dr. Pengel and Dr. Polousky will provide information for parents and coaches on sports-specific injury prevention. Brunch will be served.

For more information about the Youth Sports Medicine Institute or the community open house, visit www.YouthSportsMed.com.