Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Mercy steps to the plate as 'Official Medical Provider' for Cardinals

Mercy will manage sports medicine needs and medical services during the multi-year partnership

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – St. Louis-based Mercy has entered into a long-term partnership to serve as Official Medical Provider of the St. Louis Cardinals. The collaboration means that Mercy will manage the team’s orthopedic and sports medicine needs, as well as provide other medical services including internal medicine.

“We are very excited that this long-term agreement with Mercy will provide the Cardinals with access to some of the best physicians and facilities in medicine today,” said John Mozeliak, Cardinals Sr. Vice President & General Manager. “The Cardinals will now have access to a nationally recognized hospital, as well as receive an increased level of comprehensive, advanced care that is only possible from one of the leading health systems.”

Long-time team physicians Dr. George Paletta and Dr. Lyndon Gross will continue to provide orthopedic care for the Cardinals, as members of the Mercy medical team. Other leaders of the Cardinals care team are Mercy Clinic Sports Medicine specialist Dr. Brian Mahaffey and Internist Dr. Jason Hand. Beyond orthopedics, Mercy has a corps of more than 550 St. Louis-area primary care and specialty physicians available to Cardinals players, office staff and their families.

Mercy Regional President Donn Sorensen explains that the long-term deal with the Cardinals advances Mercy’s initiatives of growth and service.

“We intend to develop a sports medicine center that is a national destination for both orthopedics and sports medicine. This is a great step toward realizing that goal,” Sorensen says. “Partnering with the St. Louis Cardinals means that Mercy is stepping up to the plate in a very meaningful, very substantial way.”

Mercy has a deep well of experience in quality sports medicine services including surgery, sports-focused primary care, physical therapy and trainers that serve high schools and universities. Mercy’s collaboration with the Cardinals in St. Louis mirrors a long-term partnership it has had as team physicians for the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis club.

Mercy is one of Missouri’s largest employers, with 23,000 co-workers serving 1.8 Missourians annually.  Statewide, Mercy has 10 hospitals, with two in the St. Louis metro area and a third in Jefferson County coming on board January 31. A fourth facility, Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital, is located in Chesterfield. The organization’s physician group, Mercy Clinic, includes 550 primary care and specialty physicians, working in nearly 140 locations throughout the metropolitan area.

“Our partnership with the Cardinals goes well beyond orthopedics and internal medicine. This is about Mercy offering coordinated, integrated health care across the board to the Cardinals, from players to office personnel and their families,” Sorensen says. “The entire St. Louis Cardinals organization can look to us for advanced, clinically excellent care, just like the rest of Cardinal Nation.”

Read More: St. Louis Cardinals