Emory Healthcare and the Atlanta Falcons broke ground on a new musculoskeletal and sports medicine clinic, located at the IBM Performance Fields, home of the Atlanta Falcons. The Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center at Flowery Branch will provide a new location for patients, while also being an access point for Falcons who may need diagnostic imaging or to be seen by a sports medicine expert. 

The new clinic, approximately 29,000 square feet, signifies a long-term partnership between the Atlanta Falcons and Emory Healthcare. In 2018, Emory Healthcare became the Official Team Healthcare Provider, adding onto their existing role as the medical provider of the Atlanta Falcons.

“The terrific partnership we have with the Atlanta Falcons allows us to join forces to develop a new orthopaedics and sports medicine clinic that overlooks the Falcons practices at the IBM Performance Fields,” says Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Emory Healthcare. “We are excited that our sports medicine experts, who are team doctors for the Falcons, will care for both NFL players and the general public with musculoskeletal ailments in this new facility.” 

“That synergy will allow us to offer state-of-the art imaging equipment and a more robust compliment of physicians than would be present at a typical NFL practice facility,” says Scott D. Boden, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedics, Emory University School of Medicine. “Patients will be able to ‘Go Where the Players Go’ to receive orthopaedic care.”

“We are proud to be extending our partnership with Emory Healthcare in bringing this incredible facility to the Falcons campus,” says Rich McKay, president and CEO, Atlanta Falcons. “As an organization, it is incumbent on us to partner with organizations that have like-minded values including continuous innovation. Emory is the leader in innovative technology and this facility will be a catalyst not only to help propel sports medicine, but for world-class orthopaedics treatment for the citizens of Hall County.”

Also being built on the same site as the new clinic is the Emory Sports Performance and Research Center. The center will explore the science of injury prevention and recovery, particularly in high school and younger athletes.

“We know that 50 percent of anterior-cruciate ligament or ACL injuries could be prevented if poor movement patterns or imbalance in an athlete are detected in advance of that injury,” adds Boden. “By studying how younger student athletes move, our focus is to conduct research in this new center that will help us detect high-risk injuries and how to prevent those injuries before they occur.”

“Emory Healthcare has been a valued partner of the Atlanta Falcons and this innovative venture will not only benefit both Emory and the Falcons, but the greater Flowery Branch community as well,” says Thomas Dimitroff, general manager of the Atlanta Falcons. “The care of our team is invariably at the forefront of our minds and this state-of-the-art facility will provide that.”

Concussion injuries will also be a top area of interest at the Emory Sports Performance and Research Center. Emory and the Falcons will join together to offer community-facing programs for high school athletes, parents, coaches and others to learn about prevention tips and warning signs.

The building will take 14 to 16 months to complete, with an open date targeted for Fall 2020.