UPMC On Board as Official Healthcare Partner of GAA and GPA

UPMC was unveiled yesterday at Croke Park as the new Official Healthcare Partner of the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association.

The partnership and sponsorship agreement will run for five years and means that UPMC, which offers trusted, high-quality health services at UPMC Whitfield Hospital in Waterford and other facilities in Ireland, will work with both sporting organisations to promote the health of Gaelic Players and the communities in which they live and play.

UPMC is one of the world’s largest and most respected healthcare providers and has invested heavily in Ireland over recent years.

The network in Ireland includes UPMC Whitfield Hospital in Waterford, two UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre locations in Waterford and Cork, the newly acquired UPMC Kildare Hospital in Clane and the UPMC Carlow Outreach Centre.

Kilkenny Senior Hurler and two-time PwC All-Star Cillian Buckley has been a Senior Business Manager at UPMC for the past two years having qualified with a Masters in Biomedical Engineering from UCD.

Collaboration

UPMC has had an ongoing positive collaboration with the GAA on raising concussion awareness in Ireland through the National Concussion Symposium and the UPMC Concussion Network, the first nationwide network established for concussion diagnosis and care.

It works with doctors and medical practitioners attached to a number of Inter-County teams already and that is likely to expand in the coming years.

In October it was announced that UPMC was to partner with Kilkenny GAA on the naming rights to Nowlan Park and last week Sport for Business carried the news that they were to sponsor the UPMC Ashbourne Cup, the premier third level competition in Camogie being staged in Waterford.

“UPMC has a long tradition of caring for athletes at all levels, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins,” said David Beirne, senior vice president of UPMC International and managing director of UPMC in Ireland.

“This partnership with the GAA and GPA will allow us to raise awareness of UPMC’s world-class care in Ireland while working with the leaders of these sporting organisations to find innovative ways to support the well-being of their players on and off the field.”

Partnership

“We are delighted to launch our official partnership with UPMC,” added GAA President John Horan speaking at the launch.

“This follows on from years of the GAA working together with UPMC providing concussion protocol training to those who look after our senior inter-county teams.”

“This partnership is a mechanism to build on our great relationship in conjunction with the Gaelic Players Association allowing us to assist medical teams in providing healthcare to our players that is in line with international best practice in a range of areas.”

“Our work in the GPA falls under three pillars,” said GPA CEO Paul Flynn. “We represent our members’ interests when it comes to all matters relating to our games; we work to protect their welfare, and we support their development.”

“With the pillar of welfare in mind, this partnership with UPMC will be hugely beneficial to our members and we look forward to working with UPMC and the GAA to develop best in class ways to safeguard their health and wellbeing. We also look forward to partnering with UPMC in helping raise awareness of the work they do.”

Join us tomorrow for a more detailed interview with David Beirne and Cillian Buckley on their hopes and plans for the partnership over the coming years.