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Park City, Utah, is known for its world-class snow, world-class resorts, and world-class athletes. US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) calls this quaint mountain town their home and have partnered with Intermountain Healthcare’s Park City Hospital to help take care of the nation’s best athletes.
While there are many aspects to the partnership, here are three main reasons that the US Ski and Snowboard teams and Intermountain Healthcare work well together.
Award-Winning Athletes and an Award-Winning Hospital
Since opening in 2009, Intermountain Park City Hospital has received numerous awards for its high-quality care and excellent clinical outcomes. That’s just one of the many reasons the USSA named the hospital an official medical provider.
"With hundreds of athletes training regularly at our Center of Excellence, it’s a great benefit to have access to world-renowned physicians, laboratory services, and surgical and emergency care right here in Park City," said USSA Medical Director Kyle Wilkens. “And having a designated trauma center just steps from our training center is really reassuring to our coaches, our athletes, and their parents.”
Helping the US Elite Olympians
Winter Olympians utilize Park City as their training grounds in their pursuit of becoming champions. And their bodies take a lot of punishment, so having doctors, trainers, and a trauma center within very close proximity helps them maintain and rehab their bodies.
Some of the athletes who have trusted their knees, ankles, backs, and shoulders to Intermountain Park City Hospital include Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety, world champion ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, and aerials World Cup champion and two-time Olympian Ashley Caldwell.
Help for Injuries As Well As for Checkups
In addition to training here, winter athletes basically live in Utah for a good majority of the time. So not only is having trauma access important, receiving preventative health care is equally essential.
“There’s something to be said for knowing our athletes are recovering from their injuries and, more importantly, receiving preventive care, just up the street from the Center of Excellence,” added Wilkens. “It allows for a more seamless experience and transition back to our training program.”
Si Hutt, Intermountain Park City Hospital administrator, added that, “We are thrilled to be an official medical provider for the USSA athletes. This partnership means the best skiers and snowboarders in the world trust our doctors and our facility to get them fixed up and back on the hill as quickly as possible, and that’s a pretty powerful endorsement.”
Intermountain Park City Hospital is part of the Intermountain Healthcare system of not-for-profit hospitals and clinics. More information can be found at www.ParkCityHospital.org.
The US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) is the national governing body of Olympic skiing and snowboarding. It is the parent organization of the US Ski Team, US Snowboarding and US Freeskiing. The USSA operates out of its national training and education facility, the Center of Excellence, in Park City, Utah. More information can be found at www.ussa.org.
