A new University clinic aims to provide members of the public with specialized, same-day athletic care.
As part of a growing trend in medicine, the University Health Sports and Orthopaedics Walk-In Clinic, which opened early this semester, connects patients with Gophers athletics’ physicians. It is one of few in the area staffed by professionals trained in treating sports injuries.
Maggie Peck, a junior studying sociology and technical writing, was suffering from severe shin splints she feared might become a stress fracture earlier this fall. Unsure where to find treatment on campus, she visited the Orthopaedics Walk-In Clinic and saw a doctor within half an hour.
While Peck was overwhelmed by the size of the clinic at first, and said she “could tell the nurses and doctors were there to help.”
David Jewison, a University Health sports medicine physician, said the clinic strives to give same-day care to people with sports-related injuries not considered life-threatening, like Peck. Many patients who go to emergency rooms or urgent care clinics with sports injuries are met with long waits, only to be referred to a specialist anyway, Jewison said.
“Same-day access, diagnosis and treatment are all really important in terms of health care today,” Jewison said.
The clinic primarily serves the University community and surrounding neighborhoods, Jewison said, and is the only orthopaedic walk-in clinic within a 6 to 8 mile radius.
David Sannerud, a biology, evolution and behavior senior and rugby player, visited the clinic when Boynton Health couldn’t treat his injured knee cap.
While the size of the clinic was also hard for him to take in at first, Sannerud said he received quality care and found the location of the clinic near Stadium Village convenient.
Additionally, the clinic is staffed by Gophers athletic team physicians and staff, said Jewison, the University’s football and men’s hockey team physician.
The University’s clinic is also different from others in the area in that patients are treated by sports specialist physicians trained in sports injuries, Jewison said.
“We’re providing the highest level of orthopedic care on a walk-in basis,” Jewison said. “We’re very proud to take care of our University community.”
