TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University Athletic Department is excited to announce an innovative partnership with Olympic Sports & Spine to provide cutting edge medical coverage for the Lutes' 18 varsity programs.
 
"The student-athlete experience is at the forefront of everything we do, and this groundbreaking partnership will greatly enhance our ability to keep our student-athletes healthy and safe as they chase excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in our community," said Athletic Director Mike Snyder.  
 
Olympic Sports & Spine is the outpatient rehabilitation arm of the MultiCare Health system, with 20 clinics serving Pierce and South King Counties. As the region's largest provider of rehabilitation and athletic training services, Olympic Sports & Spine will provide Lute athletics with sports medicine personnel, expanded access to rehabilitation services, and cutting edge medical coverage through their affiliation with the MultiCare Health system. The groundbreaking partnership will additionally allow the Lutes to expand their on campus coverage from three to four full-time athletic trainers. 
 
"PLU and OSS share a commitment to community, and to service," said Olympic Sports & Spine Chief Executive Officer Brian Thacker.
 
"This relationship strengthens both organization's capacity to serve those who work and live in our community, from the student-athletes on campus, to the families and friends that live in and around Parkland."
 
PLU's partnership with Olympic Sports & Spine is just the latest collaboration between the University and MultiCare, with the two local institutions entering a partnership earlier this year that will include a new outpatient care medical center on PLU's campus. 
 
"Olympic Sports & Spine and PLU share local roots, shared values, and a commitment to service to our communities," said Thacker. 
 
Thacker praised PLU for its longtime commitment to nursing education and its recent announcement of the Partnership for Health Innovation with MultiCare and Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. 
 
"Olympic Sports & Spine is excited to partner with a university that's so invested in health care careers and the health and wellbeing of our community," he said.
 
The partnership between PLU and OSS will officially begin on July 29.