Meet the team of sports medicine specialists in the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Service Area. The group treats thousands of KP members in the South Bay and Santa Cruz County, including 3 professional sports teams.
Whether helping a 40-year-old skier get back to the slopes after a wipeout, or performing a complex elbow surgery on a professional basketball player, it is easy to find joy and meaning in sports medicine, said Mark Davies, MD, chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center.
Dr. Davies is the senior member of the Sports Medicine team in the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Service Area, comprising 5 sports medicine surgeons and 5 sports medicine physicians who work in close coordination with sports physical therapists to deliver exceptional care for all athletes, from the weekend warrior to professional competitors.
The team, embedded mostly at the San Jose Medical Center, treats KP members experiencing any sports injury, whether they need physical therapy, surgery, or an ultrasound-guided injection.
They also treat 3 professional sports teams – the San Jose Sharks, the San Jose Barracudas, and the Santa Cruz Warriors – and offer more advanced treatments, including the latest in ligament reconstruction, as well as ultrasound-guided injection procedures. The Sharks, Barracudas, and Warriors choosing the KP San Jose Sports Medicine team to care for their athletes – the teams’ most valuable assets – demonstrates their trust and confidence in the care they receive at KP San Jose.
Over the years, the San Jose team has developed a good relationship with athletic trainers in the surrounding community as well as high schools and colleges, such as San Jose State University, said Scott Crow, MD, assistant chief of Orthopedic Surgery at KP San Jose.
“One of our real strengths is the way we all work together,” Dr. Crow said. “We have great physical therapy, a great radiology department, and a talented group of medical assistants.”
Dr. Davies said KP San Jose’s Sports Medicine team has grown significantly since he joined about 15 years ago when the team included only 3 surgeons.
About 4 and a half years ago, the department expanded its services into Santa Cruz County after hiring Kevin Higashigawa, MD. Dr. Higashigawa treats KP members in the area as well as the Santa Cruz Warriors basketball team, together with a physician assistant out of the Watsonville Community Hospital.
“Working with the Santa Cruz Warriors has been personally satisfying because these athletes could go wherever they want for treatment,” he said. “To be able to treat them and see them play from the sidelines has been an honor.”
The San Jose sports medicine team also includes physicians Anthony Abene, MD; Jacob Evans, DO; Christopher Fowler, MD; June Ong, DO; Leena Patel, DO; Caitlin Rugg, MD; and Chainey Umphrey, MD.
Visit San Jose Medical Center’s Sports Medicine website for more information.