University Times

For high school athletes with an acute sports-related injury this fall, the UPMC Health System Sports Medicine program is providing free injury evaluations at the acute sports injury clinic, held each Saturday morning through Nov. 3.

The clinics are held at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, 3200 South Water St., South Side. The clinic is staffed by certified athletic trainers, physical therapists and sports medicine physicians.

The clinic is designed to provide immediate evaluation of a recent sports injury rather than of chronic or non-acute injuries, according to David White, a certified athletic trainer who oversees the acute sports injury clinic. "The idea is to provide the student athlete with a specialized sports medicine evaluation as soon as possible following an acute injury. As in past years, we expect to see fall season athletes injured in a Thursday or Friday event," White said.

New to this year's clinical services are free concussion evaluations by UPMC's Sports Concussion Program neuropsy-chologists.

Athletes can make appointments at the clinic themselves without a referral from a primary care physician because the clinic appointment and evaluation are free.

However, after the initial free evaluation, any diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, and any medical treatment are billed to the athlete's insurance carrier, which may require pre-approval by a primary care provider. Athletes must be aware of their insurance carriers' policies.

To be seen in the Saturday morning clinic, the athlete must call to make an appointment before 11 p.m. Friday. The appointment phone number is 412/432-3772.

Athletes must report to the Saturday morning clinic by 7:45 a.m. and will be seen on a first-arrived, first-served basis.