Greencastle, Cloverdale partner with PCH, Franciscan for sports medicine

Putnam County Hospital, in partnership with Franciscan Sports Medicine, has announced a new partnership with both Greencastle Community School Corporation and Cloverdale Community Schools.

The two school systems are taking the “buy local” approach and have agreed to partner for at least the next three years.

“The collaboration with the Franciscan Group will allow us the opportunity to provide exceptional health care close to home for our county athletes,” Putnam County Hospital CEO Dennis Weatherford said. “Through this partnership we will provide services similar to what Franciscan Sports Medicine is currently providing to Purdue University, Butler University and over 40 school systems statewide. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership with Franciscan Sports Medicine, Greencastle and Cloverdale.”

“We are so excited to work with our middle school athletes, high school athletes, coaches and their families in the coming years,” Director of Marketing and Community Relations Brooke Trissel said. “Putnam County Hospital has been supporting our youth athletics for several years, and the transition into middle school and high school is going to be fantastic. When our community members keep their health care dollars local, it opens up so many more opportunities for us to give back to the community and continue to provide exceptional healthcare close to home. As a community member and parent, I am beyond excited to see these partnerships grow.”

The Franciscan group will be providing athletic trainers to the schools and have a vast knowledge in sports medicine and a highly recognized sports medicine program throughout the state.

“Putnam County Hospital was wanting to partner with us to provide athletic training services for our student athletes,” Greencastle Supt. Jeff Gibboney said. “They’re doing so by bringing in the Franciscan Alliance. They have an established, up-and-running training program. It’s very similar to what we had, but we think that both Franciscan Alliance and Putnam County Hospital are going to be better partners in the long term. They’re our local hospital. And we’re getting more sponsorship dollars and we’re going to have better coverage for our student athletes.”

“The administration at Cloverdale Community Schools is excited to partner with Putnam County Hospital and Franciscan Health in an effort to provide our student athletes with high quality sports medicine support,” Cloverdale Supt. Greg Linton said. “We know that Franciscan Health has a long history of working with schools and athletes across the state, and we look forward to becoming a part of their team. Locally, Putnam County Hospital has been a great supporter of CCSC health initiatives by providing our staff and students with telemedicine access for the past three years. We appreciate the support of our local hospital in continuing to enhance the support they are willing to provide our students.”

Putnam County Hospital has invited the community to its upcoming ribbon cutting at Cloverdale on July 14 at 3:30 and at Greencastle on July 14 at 5 p.m.

“By keeping your healthcare local, we can continue to support our athletes across the county,” a hospital statement on the partnership noted.