OhioHealth named official healthcare provider for Ashland University Athletics

OhioHealth is now the official healthcare provider for Ashland University Athletics. As the official healthcare provider, OhioHealth will provide medical counsel and coverage to the university’s 18 intercollegiate sports.

OhioHealth has a proven track record of providing the highest quality sports medicine care to high school, college and professional athletes throughout the state of Ohio. OhioHealth’s sports medicine team currently provides services to seven collegiate athletic programs, nearly 50 high schools, the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets and Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew.

“We are honored to provide our expertise to the athletes, coaches and administration, who are part of Ashland University Athletics,” said Jean Halpin, president of OhioHealth Mansfield and Shelby Hospitals. “For nearly 30 years, OhioHealth physicians have been part of the Ashland community. OhioHealth and Ashland University have built a strong relationship through the Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and we’re excited to extend our relationship to the athletic programs.”

Through the partnership, OhioHealth will provide athletic training services to improve the safety and performance of Ashland student athletes. This includes concussion baseline testing for all athletes, allowing for more quality treatment during a concussion-related injury. Student athletes also will have improved access to all of OhioHealth’s services, including physical therapy, orthopedics, cardiology and neurology.

“As an Ashland resident, I am excited about the quality sports medicine services that we will provide the Ashland Eagles as part of our growing commitment to the community,” said Matthew Bernhard, MD, chief of sports medicine and joint replacement at OhioHealth Mansfield and Shelby Hospitals. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Bernhard has worked closely with the Ashland University Athletics program and will continue to support the Eagles on the sidelines.

“This partnership takes Ashland University to a unique position among NCAA Division II schools. The quality of sports medicine services our student-athletes and coaches will receive is astounding; it’s far and away above the norm at the NCAA Division II level,” said Al King, athletic director of Ashland University Athletics. “I hear colleagues talk all the time about their struggles in providing the best possible health care for student-athletes. I believe that with the help of OhioHealth, we will be the standard in health care and others will look to follow our lead. Ashland University has never been positioned better as far as care for the student-athlete.”

In addition to working with the university’s athletic program, OhioHealth will work with Ashland University’s curriculum programs to provide educational experiences for athletic training students, including placement for students within OhioHealth facilities.

“We are very excited because we see this partnership with OhioHealth as a win-win relationship,” said Dr. Carlos Campo, president of Ashland University. “The partnership will allow for many learning and placement opportunities for students in our athletic training program, which is one of our strongest majors on campus, as well as placement opportunities within OhioHealth facilities for other AU students.”

About OhioHealth

OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization with Methodist roots. Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is currently recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics and has been for five years in a row. It is also recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” and has been for nine years in a row, 2007-2015.

Serving its communities since 1891, it is a family of 28,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 11 hospitals, 50+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health, medical equipment and other health services spanning a 40-county area.

OhioHealth hospitals include OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, OhioHealth Shelby Hospital and OhioHealth Rehabilitation Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at www.ohiohealth.com.

About Ashland University Athletics

Ashland University's athletic department is a member of the NCAA in Division II, and is a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It features 20 sports - 10 men's (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and wrestling) and 10 women's (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and volleyball). A perennial powerhouse in Division II athletics, AU has finished in the Learfield Sports Director's Cup all-sports standings Top 10 for eight consecutive seasons, placing second in 2014-15.

About Ashland University

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.