Injury Care Clinic opens to students

A new clinic that provides free sport-related injury evaluation, treatment and referral services to Grand Valley students opened January 13 on the Allendale Campus.

The Injury Care Clinic is located in the Athletic Training Teaching Lab (Fieldhouse, room 145b). Staff and faculty members from Campus Recreation and Movement Science collaborated to establish the clinic with Metro Health Sports Medicine.

Amy Campbell, assistant director of Wellness in Campus Recreation, and Shari Bartz-Smith, associate professor of movement science and coordinator of the Athletic Training program, noticed a need for the clinic over the past few years. “Students would come to us with chronic injuries or something that was bothering them and wanted to know if it was serious or not,” said Campbell.

Bartz-Smith said she views the clinic as a point of referral for students seeking advice about injuries. “People who are not students will also be seen, but the focus of the proposal was students on campus who are currently underserved in the area of injury prevention, recognition and referral,” Bartz-Smith said.

Campbell said the clinic will be especially helpful for students who participate in club sports and intramural teams. “Maybe someone who runs as a hobby is experiencing chronic knee pain. They can now come to the Injury Care Clinic and a certified athletic trainer will provide an evaluation of the injury, information on basic treatments and exercises, and refer them to a physician if needed,” she said.

No appointments are needed to visit the clinic. Ethan Cunningham, an athletic trainer who works for Metro Health Sports Medicine, will staff the clinic from 2-6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 4-8 p.m. on Tuesdays. Cunningham is a graduate of Grand Valley’s athletic training program.

Bartz-Smith said, looking ahead, the clinic could serve as a clinical rotation site for athletic training majors.

Visit www.gvsu.edu/icc to learn more.