For more than 20 years, Proliance doctors have donated their time and expertise to local high school football teams through our ongoing “Friday Night Lights” program. With the rise of concussion awareness and new legislations around student athlete safety, the role of team physician is an increasingly critical one. It’s a role that Proliance physicians are enthusiastic about: many were once student athletes themselves.
Athletes Giving Back to Athletes
Dr. Dayne Mickelson is part of Issaquah High School’s football family this year, along with Dr. Cameron Schick. Dr. Mickelson is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon here at Proliance, and was a four-letter year winner on the Lehigh University men’s basketball team, winning the Patriot League championship and playing in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (“March Madness”) in his junior year. This is also not his first time as a football team physician – he served in the role for both Duke University and North Carolina Central University. This year, he is also serving as the team physician for Redmond High School football. Dr. Schick is a former collegiate gymnast for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in conditions of the upper extremity. Both Dr. Mickelson and Dr. Schick are extremely passionate about helping keep our next generation of sports lovers safe and in good health so they can continue to participate in the activities they love.
Dr. Mickelson and Dr. Schick are two of seven dedicated surgeons and sports medicine doctors from Proliance who give back to the community by donating over 50 hours each fall, for game coverage alone, to local high school football teams. Also participating this year are Dr. Peter Mandt (Mercer Island), Dr. Tyler Nathe (Bellevue, Mount Si), Dr. Gregory Komenda (Eastlake, and Eastside Catholic), Dr. Michael Sailer (Skyline), and PA-C Jennifer Krick (Interlake).
Putting Health & Safety First
Proliance physicians also play an important role in helping schools adhere to state regulations, like the Leystedt Law, which states that an athlete suspected of having a head injury must be removed from competition and evaluated by a medical professional before re-entering the game. Team physicians also look out for hyperthermia, hypothermia, injured knees, twisted ankles, and wrenched shoulders – all of which require immediate medical attention. Additionally, they maintain knowledge of any players with past injuries or treatments to help determine which players are cleared to enter each game.
“To have a medical physician and surgeon [at games] gives me that peace of mind that no matter what happens, everything is going to be taken care of,”
– Charlie Kinnune, Head Football Coach, Mount Si High School
In addition to providing game-day care, our Proliance team physicians work with coaching staff and athletic trainers on education to help all school athletes avoid injury. They encourage players who have been injured previously to do pre-season work with a physical therapist to increase their strength, and all players to work with the school trainers on injury prevention.
Our Students. Our Communities. Our Purpose.
For Proliance Orthopaedics medical professionals, it’s not only about keeping the kids safe, it’s about giving back to our community and becoming part of the team. The care we give is critical to the players’ experience – it can be the difference between getting back in the game or, sometimes, never playing again. Being there for students to help make those tough calls and provide them with the care they need to move forward in their sport is why we do what we do at Proliance Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine.
Here’s to our student athletes, football families, and Proliance team physicians! We can’t wait to see you out on the field.