A program plan for the new UCCS Sports Medicine and Performance Center is being developed, with plans on track for a December 2019 opening, according to Charles Sweet, vice chancellor, Strategic Initiatives.
Sweet discussed the latest plans for the center at an Aug. 26 Chancellor’s All-Campus Forum, the first of the 2016-17 academic year.
UCCS signed a letter of intent in June with Penrose St.-Francis Health Services, part of Centura Health, to develop the center. The center will be one of the Colorado Springs City for Champions projects, enabling it to receive a projected $16.8 million in state sales tax rebates under the Regional Tourism Act, Sweet said.
Plans call for UCCS to construct a 72,000-square-foot building as part of a Health and Wellness Village concept along North Nevada Avenue on the western edge of the UCCS campus. The center will include human performance testing and training, biomechanics, medically-based fitness, athletic training, physical therapy, an orthopedic anchor, sports medicine-focused primary care, continuing education, research, and educational offerings, as well as three interdisciplinary centers of excellence.
Sweet explained the draft vision for the center at the forum: “Create a nationally recognized center for sports medicine, research, athletic and tactical performance enhancement, and lifestyle improvement across the life span while integrating the academic rigor, research, testing, and training acumen of the faculty of UCCS into the PSFCH healthcare system.”
Penrose St.-Francis will be primarily responsible for the medical and performance clinics at the center while UCCS faculty will provide leadership to the clinics and will be primarily responsible for research and instruction.
“They have proved to be a wonderful partner for us,” Sweet said of Penrose St.-Francis.
“This is a broad, widespread university initiative that will involve faculty from across the campus in significant ways,” he said.
A program development committee with representatives from UCCS and Penrose St.-Francis has been formed and is creating the program plan for the clinics and the research and instructional programs, he said.
UCCS members of the program development team include Jackie Berning, chair, Health Sciences Department, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Andy Subudhi, associate professor and chair, Biology Department; Margie Hunt, instructor, Health Sciences Department, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Jeff Spicher, associate professor, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Steve Johnson, clinical professor, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Nancy Smith, dean, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Susan Szpyrka, senior vice chancellor, Administration and Finance; and Sweet.
According to a timeline discussed at the forum, the partnership structure and program plan will be developed by March 2017. Substantial construction of the center will begin by July 2018 and be completed by December 2019.
When the letter of intent was signed in June by UCCS and Penrose-St. Francis, Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak described the center in this way: “Our mutual goal is to develop nationally recognized programs for the elite athlete, the amateur athlete and individuals who desire to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. We intend this center to be a destination for athletes pursuing sport-specific performance enhancement as well as sports medicine at an innovative clinical research and education facility. We believe Penrose-St. Francis brings a commitment of resources and expertise that will make this center a success.”
The next Chancellor All-Campus Forum is 2 p.m. Sept. 28. Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend forums to learn about campus activities and to ask questions of general interest. Forum summaries are published in Communique.
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