References
About The Industrial Athlete
| Mission | Core Values | History | Board of Directors |
Mission Top^
Our mission is to help companies prevent injuries and achieve a significant reduction in healthcare expenses by providing the highest quality, on-site, proactive healthcare management services for your employees.
Core Values Top^
The Core Values are the guiding principles in the conduct of our business behavior.
- Integrity: We are honest and ethical in the delivery of our services and we will lead by example.
- Service: We give 100% effort to our clients and the members that we serve, for we believe that the customers’ needs come first.
- Excellence: We provide the highest quality of service to all that we serve.
- Respect: We treat each individual with dignity and unconditional respect and without prejudice.
- Accountability: We hold ourselves responsible for our actions.
- Growth: We are committed to the continuous improvement of ourselves and of the services we provide.
- Pride: We are proud to be Americans and proud of the work that we do. We want to inspire our members (industrial athletes) to be the best that they can be.
History Top^
Dr. Warren Schildberg, Board Certified Sports Medicine Physician, and Thomas Miller, Sports Medicine Consultant and former Executive Director of the American College of Sports Medicine, founded The Industrial Athlete, Inc. in 1985.
Dr. Schildberg had studied the similarities between the “repetitive motion” injuries common to industry and “overuse” injuries common in sports. Of particular interest to him were the glaring differences between the healthcare systems which traditionally cared for the two populations. Most remarkable features of the sports medicine model of health care vs. the traditional were the following:
- lower
cost (approximately one third the cost)
- higher
quality (consistently the best care available)
- much
higher compliance rate (treated internally, not sent outside the
organization)
- much
higher initial level of fitness among the patient population resulting in a
greatly reduced susceptibility to serious injury
- much
more rapid and complete recovery, thus, fewer lost work days
Miller and Schildberg theorized that the sports medicine model of health care could be introduced to industry at substantial savings. This could be done by direct contracting with employers for the provision of medical, physical rehabilitation and physical conditioning services, provided at a flat rate fee. This would eliminate the costly third party billing and reimbursement process for the care of minor injuries, while providing the workforce with the highest quality of employee healthcare available the caliber of care to which only the elite athlete is accustomed. Additionally, the industry would have an on-site fitness facility which would be more than paid for through the savings in workers compensation and health care costs.
Miller
and Schildberg presented their assumptions to labor and management officials at a major Detroit
automobile manufacturing facility. In
1987 an in-plant fitness facility opened its doors.
One year later an adjacent
physical rehabilitation center was opened.
The savings greatly exceeded all start up and operational costs for both
facilities in their first full year of operation.
The concept was subsequently incorporated in the company’s
1990 UAW contract and is still in place nationwide today.
In 1989, Dwight Gaal, an exercise physiologist with considerable experience in start up and management of hospital based sports medicine, fitness and wellness programs, assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer. Since then, The Industrial Athlete, Inc. has grown from its original in-plant facility to managing and staffing multiple sites, ranging from 2,000 sq. ft to 100,000 sq. ft. in area, serving over 30,000 workers in Michigan and New York.
Schildberg retired in 2000 from a distinguished medical career and became the Medical Consultant of The Industrial Athlete, Inc. Miller and Gaal remain as the President and C.E.O., respectively.
Corporate Officers Top^
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Thomas
F. Miller, M.S. Thomas F. Miller, M.S. received his Masters Degree in Urban Affairs from the Universityof Wisconsin Mr. Miller is the former Executive Director of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Joint Commission on Sports Medicine and Science. Mr. Miller is an Honorary Sports Medicine Fellow of the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. Mr. Miller is President of The Industrial Athlete, Inc. and President of The Industrial Athlete Institute for Research and Education, Inc. |
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Dwight D. Gaal, M.A. Dwight D. Gaal, M.A. received his Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology from Michigan State University Mr. Gaal has extensive experience in the planning, design, and management of fitness, wellness, sports medicine and cardiac rehabilitation facilities. Mr. Gaal is certified in Fitness Center Management through the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research. Mr. Gaal is the CEO/CFO of The Industrial Athlete, Inc. and Executive Director of Association for Sports Medicine in Industry, Business and Military. |
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Phillip C. Zinni, III, DO, FAOASM, ATC Dr. Zinni received his medical degree from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University. Dr. Zinni is currently the Contract Medical Director for Whole Health Management at Harrah’s Entertainment. Previously he was the Corporate Medical Director for E&J Gallo Winery. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, a Fellow in Sports Medicine (FAOASM), and also a Athletic Trainer Certified (ATC). He currently is the 1st Vice-President of the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine (AOASM); has over 20 years experience and has published, edited or spoken on numerous topics related to Sports and Occupational Medicine; and Workers Compensation. |
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Proactive, Innovative Healthcare Management
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