A look at what the new Christus Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute will look like when completed. The ground was broke for the new institute in South Tyler in November 2019.

The best way to take care of a sports injury is to prevent one.

On Thursday, groundbreaking took place for the new Christus Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute. The four-story institute will not only help prevent injuries, but provide state-of-the-art training and rehabilitation for athletes of all ages.

“We will have world-class diagnostic care as well as rehabilitation space here. The biggest thing I think is unique, we’ll have an indoor, 25-yard track to improve movement training and physical therapy,” said Anne Pileggi, chief administrative officer of Christus Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, and Christus Mother Frances Hospitals in South Tyler and Jacksonville.

Pileggi said they can evaluate movement for pitching, running, golfing, and “all of the types of things you evaluate movement for.” She said there also will be areas for team and organizational training for college and high school teams as well as “weekend warriors.” There will be a community education center for up to 50 people.

Dr. Steve Keuer, an internal medicine physician, president of Christus Trinity Clinic and chief medical officer for Northeast Texas, said, “This is a great corner, one of the busiest corners in Tyler, so to have an orthopedic and sports medicine center right here improves the accessibility to health care.”

He continued, “This is for people of all ages. We love our athletes in Tyler, but also, from the very young to the very old, everyone wants to live a healthy lifestyle and to stay fit.

“Fitness improves our immunity and helps us fight cancer and other diseases. This facility will provide patients access to facilities, services and specialists that are not available in our community right now,” said Keuer. “This state-of-the-art facility shows our commitment to growth and development in these important areas. We’ve had our eye on this corner for quite a while. This now expands the campus in a way that will help our community.”

“I’ve been in this health system for 18 years and half of this time we planned on building a facility like this, so I am so excited for this. We plan on addressing those who are injured, and more importantly take steps to help Tyler and Northeast Texas to live healthier and also prevent injuries from happening through proper training and rehab techniques using our motion analysis center,” said Dr. William Hobbs, M.D., Institute Chair, Christus Trinity Clinic Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. “The Peak Performance Program is something that we are tremendously excited to bring to the people of this community and this region.”

Tyler City Councilwoman Linda Sellers of District 1-Central represents the south side of Tyler where the new facility is located.

“At the city, we like to tout Tyler as a regional medical center. During the daytime hours, we are told Tyler expands to over 250,000 people,” Sellers said. “That’s exciting for us. This district is the fastest growing district in the city. We just rezoned this property to the south and there will be another shopping area there. There will be commercial in there, this is going to be the new hub of the city of Tyler, I have no doubt. We’re so proud of Christus and what you’re doing to spread out and offer health care services to other parts of the city. We love your hospital downtown, but we love you being out here, too, so thank you for coming out here.”

In addition to doctors and administrators from Christus Health, the event was attended by Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, providers, nurses, associates and community members.