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Brian Wiese, MS, LAT, ATC, program manager for Professional, Collegiate, University Programming and Special Events, at last year’s PIAA Wrestling Championships.

St. Luke’s University Health Network has entered a four-year extension with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) as the Official Sports Medicine Provider for PIAA Championship events. This extension will run through the 2027-28 academic year.

St. Luke’s has provided athletic trainers at all PIAA high school championship events, which include 12 boys’ and 11 girls’ state championship events: Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Spirit, Soccer, Swimming and Diving, Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Track and Field, Lacrosse, Baseball and Softball. Additionally, St. Luke’s will provide physician services in support of athletic trainers during the Cross Country, Football, Wrestling and Track and Field championship events.

“We were well aware of the success that PIAA District XI had with St. Luke’s, and the last two years with St. Luke’s, serving as our primary Sports Medicine provider, has been a terrific experience for our student-athletes and member schools,” said Dr. Robert A. Lombardi, Executive Director of PIAA. “We are honored and proud to continue this relationship to provide outstanding medical care at our Championship events.

St. Luke’s has also been the Official Sports Medicine Provider for PIAA District XI Championships for the past decade, which encompasses scholastic sports in the Lehigh Valley region.

“St. Luke’s Sports Medicine and St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care were originally selected by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Executive Board based on their reputation for delivering the highest quality services in PIAA District XI,” said Douglas W. Lundy, MD, MBA, FAOA, FACS, the Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and orthopedic trauma surgeon for St. Luke’s University Health Network. “We are proud to provide contemporary best practices in sports medicine to ensure not only the highest quality care of the athletes during competition but completion of essential event medical planning and preparation for the events,“ said Brian Wiese, MS, LAT, ATC, Program Manager for Professional, Collegiate, University programming and special events who oversees the relationship with the PIAA. “We are able to deploy the majority of our leadership team and more experienced athletic trainers with over 250 cumulative years of experience to the PIAA championship events.”

As they have for the past two years, St. Luke’s team of orthopedic surgeons and primary care sports medicine physicians will provide services at PIAA Championship events, including the PIAA Individual and Team Wrestling Championships. St. Luke’s certified athletic trainers will continue to work with the PIAA Executive Staff and Sport Committee leaders to review plans and set expectations for exemplary care.

“It has been great to see over the past two years our Athletic Trainers requesting to join the team working PIAA championships resulting in a high retention and also continuity of medical staffing per each championship year over year. This includes our team of physicians as well. When our team arrives onsite and even during pre-event meetings with the PIAA staff, it feels like one big family reunition with excitement to deliver a great experience and safe environment to our student athletes.”

When you look at what PIAA represents, close to 350,000 student-athletes and almost 1,500 schools across the Commonwealth, there are a lot of good sports medicine programs out there, says John Hauth, EdD, LAT, ATC, Senior Director for Sports Medicine Relationships at St. Luke’s. “To provide these services is an honor and a tribute to the grassroots efforts of our staff, their expertise and abilities.”