KUTZTOWN, PA (August 23, 2010) – Kutztown University's student-athletes have a new palace to receive treatment for strains, sprains, contusions, abrasions, headaches and much more.
Judging by the reaction of the student-athletes, the new and improved Sports Medicine facility in Keystone Hall is like being upgraded from a single room at the Motel 6 to the penthouse suite of the Borgata hotel.
“It looks so much more professional,” junior volleyball player Lindsey Smith said of the new sports medicine facility. “It's nice to have a legit facility. We like it a lot.”
During the summer while the student-athletes were busy enjoying the time away from campus, workers were busy renovating the 'old fitness center' (Keystone 124) to become the new Sports Medicine facility. With more space, new tables, more equipment, private rooms and windows, it's obvious that the Jefferson's weren't the only ones who moved up.
“When I got back to school, everybody was talking about how nice the room was and that I should go check it out,” sophomore football player Nick Palmer said. “When I walked in, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was nice. Compared to the previous facility, this feels like a Division I program.”
Not to say the old facility was bad. It just couldn't keep up with the demand and traffic. With student-athletes zooming in and out of the facility like commuters at Grand Central Station, the sports medicine facility routinely resembled bumper-to-bumper rush traffic on Route 222.
“The entire staff is extremely excited as it gives us better and more usable space to provide the quality athletic healthcare to our student-athletes that we strive for,” Sports Medicine coordinator Rennie Sacco said. “Athletes are not so congested during peak hours. They feel like they're in a true medical facility. This room gives our staff better office space and gives the ability to have private space with student-athletes, when desired.”
The room is about 500 square feet larger than the old room, which sat directly across from Keystone Arena. With the commodious space, the sports medicine facility is able to increase its taping capacity by two additional stations (six to eight) and treatment capacity by three additional tables. Also, the staff can see up to 20 percent more students comfortably.
More importantly, the new facility features 150 feet of rehabilitation space. In addition, they were able to acquire an additional ice machine as a result of the move, which is very helpful during preseason fall camp, hosting tournament and multi-event days. Having direct outside access is helpful for many things, such as practice and game preparation and also ambulance access.
New HVAC mechanicals, security access improvements, computer wireless upgrades all make working and being serviced in the new facility are a vast improvement from the old facility. Not to mention the new “windows are a godsend after 26 years of no windows,” Sacco said. Now, the sun shines on a hard-working, talented and dedicated staff.
“Wow,” said sophomore wide receiver Bob Royal said. “It's a big difference from last year. We have so much more room and more space to rehab. This is a great thing. I can remember last year running into people when I was trying to do rehab. Now everything is so much better. It's all spaced out and you can get a lot more done faster.”
--KU--
