Sports Performance Hits Its Stride as a Growth Area
by Cheryl Haas
Thirty years ago, sports medicine was the hot trend that completely changed the way athletes and physicians approach sports injuries. Now, the latest iteration in sports medicine is sports performance. With its emphasis on improving athletes’ performance abilities, the discipline is not only here to stay, it’s a significant outpatient growth area.
Rename makes big difference
St. Vincent Sports Performance, part of St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis, was founded in 2001 by Ralph Reiff, its executive director. “Throughout my career, I’ve had the desire to create a full suite of complementary services that was accessible to anyone physically active,” says Reiff. “I was charged with managing our sports medicine program at the time. We were not a market leader, and I renamed it sports performance because it would be a differentiator for us. It changed our entire identity.”
St. Vincent has a sophisticated outreach program to local middle and high schools. The schools are loss leaders. Nevertheless, a strong school presence, which includes comprehensive summer training programs and placing trainers on-site, is an integral part of Reiff’s growth strategy.