Intermountain Healthcare, DSU strengthen partnership with new Sports Medicine Center

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of their sports medicine partnership, Intermountain Healthcare presented Dixie State University with a $100,000 donation to support the newly centralized DSU Sports Medicine Center.

During a check-presentation ceremony Tuesday, Mitch Cloward, administrator of Dixie Regional Medical Center, and Brian Chadaz, board chair, presented the donation that is going toward the $3.4 million project. The 10,388-square-foot center will offer Dixie State’s student-athletes NCAA Division I-level medical care, screenings, sports psychology services, rehabilitation and more. Also during the ceremony, St. George City Mayor Jon Pike welcomed officials from both organizations as well as the community to take a swing and help demolish the final wall to come down as part of renovating the university’s former fitness center into the Sports Medicine Center. 

“Thanks to the awesome support of Intermountain Healthcare, the expanded Sports Medicine Center will help us not only compete on the Division-I level, but will also improve the lives and health of our student-athletes,” said Jason Boothe, Dixie State’s athletic director. “DSU student-athletes have an intense drive to succeed, and the support and resources that will be available at this facility will significantly help them as they work to improve their performance.”

The Sports Medicine Center will offer centralized services to DSU’s more than 400 student-athletes. Additionally, the facility will provide academic opportunities, as students in DSU’s first-ever cohort of the Masters of Athletic Training program work with and learn from Intermountain Healthcare professionals in this space. 

“In sports, everyone wants to win,” said Rhett Farrer, Intermountain sports medicine manager. “This facility will level the playing field, providing resources and help Dixie State athletes continue to be a force to be reckoned with.”

The donation is just the latest development in the partnership between Intermountain Healthcare and Dixie State University and is providing more convenience and better care for Trailblazer athletes. 

“I can remember when we first started the relationship in the early 1990s before Intermountain had a dedicated sports medicine program. Those of us who volunteered to help then would take athletes in the back of a truck to the ER. Our care and services have definitely grown with our relationship,” said Farrer. “We will be able to do 90 percent right here. It is a much better medical model, breaking down barriers for student-athletes and helping them more efficiently and conveniently.”

This resource will be available to student-athletes starting in the first quarter of 2021, when the Sports Medicine Center is expected to open.

“As a sport medicine caregiver, our goal is to help protect student-athletes and give them the best opportunities on and off the field,” said Farrer. “This facility will help fulfill those needs for the foreseeable future.”