On Tuesday, Penn Athletics announced the eventual construction of a Holistic Wellness and Concussion Research Center.
Credit: Courtesy of Penn AthleticsAs the conversation around athletics — and particularly football — has centered on player health, and concussions specifically, Penn Athletics has purposefully worked to stake a claim at the forefront of safety initiatives.
In the latest move along this trend, Athletic Director Grace Calhoun announced plans for the construction of a new Holistic Wellness and Concussion Center in Franklin Field.
The Silverstein Wellness and Concussion Center, which will be housed on the second floor of the Frey Athletic Training Room in the East End of Franklin Field will provide students a wide range of wellness and medical services.
On the concussion side of the facility, the space will be a hotspot for concussion research — bolstering Penn’s claims to be at the forefront of the field. Since Calhoun began her tenure, she has helped lead Penn’s involvement in both the Ivy League/Big Ten Concussion Study and the Department of Defense Sport-Related Concussion Study.
“I am thrilled to provide Penn Athletics with an innovative, state-of-the art facility that not only improves the care and management of concussions, but also takes care of Penn’s student-athletes as a whole,” said Howard Silverstein, whose donation helped put his name on the building, in a press release. “Today’s athletes deserve integrated care. This facility will make a difference to all of our student-athletes, now and for the future.”
The center — the first of its kind among the Ivy League institutions — will also include office space for Penn’s head athletic trainer and its sports nutritionist, as well as meeting rooms for small consultations with players. The space also boasts conference space intended for collaboration among Penn’s many sports performance professionals.
In this way, the center is hoping to bridge the gap between Penn Sports Performance and Penn Medicine, offering in-service opportunities with Penn Med physicians. The hope is that the establishment of this center will induce more communication between the two departments in the fields of research, evaluation and analysis.
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