Scripps Clinic Extends Agreement with Padres Through 2009

Scripps Clinic has recently announced that it will maintain its partnership with the San Diego Padres as the team’s official health care provider through the 2009 season. Continuing to build upon a relationship that began in 1981, the Clinic will provide all medical services and evaluations for the team in La Jolla, Calif. during the regular season and at the team’s Spring Training facilities in Peoria, Ariz.

Clinic Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Jan Fronek has been the Head Team Physician for the past 15 years and is supported by a staff of Scripps Clinic physicians, including Drs. Heinz Hoenecke, Daniel Keefe and Steven Copp in orthopaedic surgery, and Drs. Harry Albers, Gaston Molina and Robert Kakehashi in internal medicine. The team is further supported by ophthalmologists, podiatrists and a nutritionist.

“Scripps Clinic is proud to extend our long-standing relationship with the Padres,” said Larry Harrison, CEO of Scripps Clinic. “We’re delighted to be chosen year after year to provide them with the quality of care that they’ve come to expect – and we’ve become synonymous with.”

Dr. Fronek and his staff treat Padres players for an assortment of health-related issues. Whether it’s a broken bone, torn cartilage or a bad cold, the team calls the medical staff for assistance.

“The beauty of Scripps Clinic is that we have the specialists to help the Padres players with any problem they may have,” says Dr. Fronek. “Whether they need surgery to repair a torn ACL or they need medication for a viral infection, we have a great medical staff that can be of assistance.”

In August of 2005, Scripps Clinic plastic surgeons were called into emergency action when Padre Mike Cameron (then of the New York Mets) collided with teammate Carlos Beltran in one of the most gruesome incidents in Major League Baseball history. Both running full speed after a fly ball, the mens’ faces collided at full speed – resulting in Cameron’s two fractured cheekbones and a broken nose requiring urgent facial surgery.

In addition to treating the players, the team’s medical staff at Scripps Clinic also provides medical care to the coaching staff, the player’s families and other members of the Padres organization.

Padres players who are rehabbing injuries often do so at the Shiley Sports & Health Center at Scripps Clinic. In fact, other players – both at the Major and Minor League level – from around the league have come to San Diego specifically to work with the physical therapists and other specialists at the center while rehabbing their injuries.

During the past several years, Scripps Clinic has worked with Padres physicians to bring more of their expertise to a wider audience. This has been done through online chats with fans regarding sports medicine, and most recently, through articles in Padres Magazine that share sports-related health issues with fans.

“Sports are a great way to get fit and have fun, but you have to remember that injuries can happen if you do not take proper precautions,” says Fronek. “By using outlets like Padres Magazine, we are able to communicate with a large audience about how to avoid common injuries, how to train properly and how to stay healthy so you remain on the field and out of the doctor’s office.”

Founded in 1924, Scripps Clinic is a multi-specialty, outpatient care facility caring for patients at multiple locations throughout San Diego County. Scripps Clinic and its physicians are world-renowned for research-driven care and medical specialty expertise and is an operating unit of Scripps Health, a not-for-profit, community-based health care delivery network that includes more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, five acute-care hospitals, home health care and associated support services. Scripps Health is one of the largest health care organizations in San Diego County, drawing from the expertise of more than 10,000 health care professionals.

For more information, call 1-800-SCRIPPS (1-800-727-4777).