Proliance Orthopedic Associates and the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League have a unique partnership. The T-Birds rely on the Sports Medicine Team at POA to help keep the team healthy over the course of a 72-game regular season schedule. The Sports Medicine team at Proliance Orthopedic Associates is able to use their skills and expertise in the sports medicine field with elite amateur athletes. In 2010, after the Thunderbirds moved to the Showare Center in Kent, POA Executive Director Kalen Privatsky approached the team and POA soon became their team physicians.
“POA has been invaluable to the health and welfare of our athletes,” states Seattle T-Birds Athletic Trainer Phil Varney. “We have a great team approach to providing care and that really benefits the athlete. The benefit with POA is the expertise and flexibility of their staff to quickly diagnose and treat any injury that occurs and to make the right intervention quickly. They have specialists in every area of care. The expertise of their physicians paired with their ability to diagnostically evaluate injuries quickly and accurately gives our players a real advantage when it comes to staying on the ice. Whether I have an ankle injury to a dislocated shoulder I know our players are getting the best care possible. I would recommend them to anyone.”
T-Birds players, like team captain Justin Hickman (pictured above), who is recovering from a shoulder injury, know the care they receive from POA is tops in western Washington orthopedics. POA physicians, like Dr. Erik Novak, are there when an immediate injury occurs, and during the recovery and rehabilitation processes. Dr. Novak provides both surgical and non-surgical treatment for foot and ankle conditions, as well as general orthopedics and treatment of fractures.
At a recent game against the Kelowna Rockets, right wing Lane Pederson was clipped on the chin by an opponents’ stick. Pederson was taken to the locker room, where Dr. Novak quickly assessed the injury and stitched him up. Pederson was back on the ice minutes later, helping his team try to pull out a victory over the Rockets.
