A Sneak Peek and Dedication of New Sports Medicine Center

DETROIT – With the fall sports season in full swing, Henry Ford Health System today dedicated a new modern sports medicine center in Detroit that officials say will be destination site for patients and athletes at all levels of sport.

The three-story facility, part of the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, will bring together under one roof a comprehensive lineup of services unique to a health system in Michigan. It is named the William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine, in honor of the late owner of the Detroit Lions and grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford.

“The William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine combines Henry Ford’s medical excellence with the latest performance training technology, innovation and rehabilitation to make it a destination site for athletes and patients alike,” says Wright Lassiter III, Henry Ford’s president and CEO. “This will be a premier facility for sports medicine in the region and in Michigan.”

Henry Ford is the official health care provider for the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Lions and serves as team doctors for more than 20 Michigan colleges, universities and high schools.

The center is connected by a 125-foot walkway enclosed in glass to the Pistons new practice facility and corporate headquarters. A 370-space parking structure provides parking for Henry Ford patients, the Pistons organization and retail use.

Today’s dedication event comes more than 30 months after Henry Ford and the Pistons announced plans to build the multi-discipline Henry Ford Detroit Performance Center, located just east of the Lodge Freeway and 3 ½ blocks south of West Grand Boulevard. It was built on a parcel of property owned by Henry Ford and previously used as an employee parking lot.

“It’s truly been an honor to partner with the Pistons on this wonderful investment,” Lassiter says. “We see this as a long-term partnership as we share the same values for supporting the communities and neighbors we serve.”

Henry Ford officials were joined by executives from the Pistons and Lions including Lions owner and chairman Martha Ford, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other dignitaries to celebrate the facility’s dedication and provide a sneak peek at what’s to come. Construction on the facility is scheduled to be completed this fall. A plaque honoring Mr. Ford is displayed in the facility’s lobby.

The Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center will be a trendsetter in Michigan – the latest in a string of collaborations between a U.S. health system and a professional sports team to build a sports medicine center connected to a multi-faceted training facility. Others are the University Pittsburgh Medical Center and Pittsburgh Penguins, Emory Healthcare and Atlanta Hawks and St. Vincent Center and Indiana Pacers.

The 54,000-square-foot sports medicine facility anchors the west end of the performance center, at the corner of 690 Amsterdam at Third Street, one block north of Henry Ford’s corporate offices in Detroit’s New Center Area. It will be staffed by about 50 team members consisting of doctors, nurses, athletic trainers, physical and occupational rehab specialists, integrative medicine specialists and other health care professionals.

The facility offers 33 patient exam rooms, two procedure rooms, one MRI suite, two digital X-ray suites and one ultrasound suite. Key services will include:

• Sports medicine and orthopedics.

• Physical and occupational therapy.

• Specialty services such as acupuncture, brain health, cardiac testing, chiropractor care, ear, nose and throat care, eye care, massage, nutrition assessment and testing and sleep medicine.

• Advanced motion analysis and sports biomechanics with comprehensive performance training.

• State-of-the-art rehab space focuses on advanced techniques that are designed to return them to sport and full activity. A sports pelvic floor therapy program helps women regain function and return to their active lifestyle after pregnancy or living with pelvic floor disorders like pelvic pain, incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

Ted Parsons, M.D., Henry Ford’s chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, says the expansive level of services and medical expertise under one roof is unmatched in Michigan.

“This is a first-class sports medicine facility and our team is excited about bringing the kind of exceptional care experience our athletes and patients have come to expect from us,” Dr. Parsons says. “We take pride in our team approach to caring for the ‘whole athlete’ whether you’re an elite athlete, college or high school athlete, weekend warrior or someone who is simply trying to maintain an active lifestyle.”

Mayor Duggan says the partnership between Henry Ford and the Pistons is emblematic of the kinds of investments that contribute to the city’s ongoing resurgence.

“Thanks to this great partnership between Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Pistons, what was once an employee parking lot is now one of the most modern and inviting sports medicine facilities nationwide,” Mayor Duggan says. “We appreciate Henry Ford Health System’s continued investment in and dedication to the city of Detroit.”

This is Henry Ford’s second sports medicine center named in honor of William Clay Ford. The first opened two blocks away at the corner of Second and Milwaukee in 1996. That facility was recently renamed Henry Ford Medical Center-Second as the new facility neared completion. All sports medicine related services are relocated to the new facility.

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MEDIA CONTACT: David Olejarz / David.Olejarz@hfhs.org / 313.874.4094