One of the leading questions new arrivals seek to answer is ways to locate quality medical care, facilities, specialists and health-care professionals to address their medical and wellness needs. In this special advertising section, Salt Lake magazine invites our partners in the profession to share their expertise in a range of specialties and other health and wellness options.
CommonSpirit health in Utah provides Olympic-level sports med treatment for all
Dr. Andrew Cooper’s sports medicine expertise has taken him all over the world, from Sochi, Russia, to Pyeongchang, South Korea, and most recently—Beijing, China.
If you’re an Olympics buff, you’ll recognize those locations as the sites of the last three Winter Games, where Dr. Cooper has been leading the medical staff for Team USA’s freeski squad.
“Each Olympics has its challenges,” says Dr. Cooper. “I’ve been blessed to work with a lot of amazing athletes. Being a small part of their journey and success has been rewarding. The relationships and experiences have been some of my career highlights.”
But you don’t need to be a world-class athlete to work with Dr. Cooper, who is also heading up the sports med program for CommonSpirit Health in Utah. The weekend warriors, who probably feel much more comfortable on a green downhill ski run than on an Olympic-grade slope, get the same treatment from Dr. Cooper.
New to the Utah market, CommonSpirit is nodding to the area’s history while innovating the latest advancements in health care. Located throughout the Wasatch Front, the five Holy Cross hospitals derive their names from the legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who began caring for Utahns in the 1800s. Drawing upon the legacy of compassion and high-quality care, the promise today is that all patients will have access to a top-notch health care “partner,” like Dr. Cooper.
“I approach it the same on my end,” Dr. Cooper says of the switch from treating Olympians to recreational athletes. “It makes it easy, you treat everyone with respect and we all have the same value as human beings.”
Sports injuries, after all, can be stressful and frustrating whether you’re competing for a gold medal or a trip to the high school basketball state championship game. Dr. Cooper has used his expertise in both scenarios, with the same high level of care.
As the calendar goes, so come the types of injuries that need treatment, he says. “It’s interesting, I can always tell when the seasons change. I don’t even have to look at the calendar, you can tell by the types of injuries coming into the clinic.” Dr. Cooper says. “In the winter, we see a lot of snow and court-type injuries. With spring and into fall, it transitions to field sports and recreational outdoor activities.”
Few sports medicine experts can boast the experience Dr. Cooper has. Not only has he worked with the U.S. ski team over the last three Olympic Games, he is also the current Chief Medical Officer for Westminster University Athletics, and medical director for the Solitude Mountain Resort Medical Clinic managed by CommonSpirit. For years previously, you could see him on the sidelines of the Real Salt Lake games, and at local high school sporting events. He also led the charge for dance medicine for many years, working closely with Ballet West.
But if you’re just an Average Joe, having a good time on the slopes, golf course, or in a pickup basketball game, you can expect Olympic-level treatment with Dr. Cooper and his sports medicine team at a Holy Cross hospital.
“Athletes, like all of us, are just people. When they get injured, they need help understanding the diagnosis and what options they have available for treatment to get them back to their sport.” Dr. Cooper says.
“I am aligning with CommonSpirit to grow our sports medicine legacy in the Utah community. We are excited and optimistic about the future and are looking forward to where we can take our sports medicine and orthopedic division.”
Dr. Andrew Cooper
CommonSpirit Health
mountain.commonspirit.org
