Our Story
building upon a successful model
Our Story
building upon a successful model
In the late 1980’s a group of sports medicine physicians including, John Lombardo, MD, Doug McKeag, MD, Jim Puffer, MD and Lee Rice, DO, organized a team to establish the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine (AMSSM). Nearly 30 years later, the father-daughter team, John Lombardo, MD and Erin Lombardo, PhD, MPH, RDN realized that healthcare was heading in the wrong direction and started looking for pathways to improve health outcomes.
In 2021, these five teamed up to form Partnership for Proactive Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leading a group of healthcare professionals and athletes to develop Healthcare as a Team Sport focused on shifting to a proactive, interprofessional team-based and patient centered model of healthcare. Our team of healthcare professionals and elite athletes, also including Archie Griffin, Joe Briggs, Esq, Katie Smith, MS and Nikita Lowry Dawkins, have experienced the benefits of Healthcare as a Team Sport.
This model is used in professional, Olympic, and collegiate sports and has evidence of effectiveness in both management and secondary prevention of hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and total joint replacement35–42. The focus with elite athletes who rely on being in top physical condition to perform at their best, both physically and mentally is proactive health. The success of Healthcare as a Team Sport includes a focus on the 5 Areas of Proactive Health, ensuring every teammate has a personalized approach to optimize their health.
Our journey to bring Healthcare as a Team Sport to everyone continues engaging with the community around the 5 Areas of Proactive Health. Together, we will optimize health + save lives, all in service to our communities!
What are the 5 Areas of
Proactive Health?
team +
support
food +
nutrition
movement +
exercise
rest +
recovery
joy +
mindset
Our Guiding Principles
Mission
To bring Healthcare as a Team Sport from athletes to everyone.
Vision
Optimize Health and Well-being
Values
Trust. Team. Excellence.
Our Team
Just like Healthcare as a Team Sport requires a strong team, our nonprofit does too. The foundation for all involved is a shared belief of paying it forward and tackling health challenges by centering on the 5 Areas of Proactive Health.
huddle up, for healthy children
Partnering 4 Health is a community with a common goal, optimizing children’s health. You’re invited to join, powering our game plan that starts with bringing Healthcare as a Team Sport to 4th graders and their families in areas with great needs.
Bonus, you will be part of our all-star team – including Archie Griffin, Clark Kellogg and Katie Smith and will get a vote to bring our 4th grade program to your city!
Questions, Contact Us.
All donations to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Partnership for Proactive Health are tax deductible (EIN: 88-1986700).
References: 1 Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Schools | Healthy Schools | CDC. Published August 19, 2022. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/chronicconditions.htm. 2 Boersma P. Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults, 2018. Prev Chronic Dis. 2020;17. doi:10.5888/pcd17.200130 3 Sappenfield O, Alberto C, Minnaert J, Donney J, Lebrun-Harris L, Ghandour R. National Survey of Children’s Health Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health.; 2023. https://mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/mchb/data-research/nsch-data-brief-adolescent-mental-behavioral-health-2023.pdf. 4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No.PEP22-07-01-005, NSDUH Series H-57). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2021-nsduh-annual-national-report 5 Fryar C, Carroll M, Afful J. Products – Health E Stats – Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Severe Obesity Among Children and Adolescents Aged 2–19 Years: United States, 1963–1965 Through 2017–2018. www.cdc.gov. Published February 5, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obesity-child.htm. 6 Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Afful J. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among adults aged 20 and over: United States, 1960–1962 through 2017–2018. NCHS Health E-Stats, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. Updated February 8, 2021. Accessed December 24, 2024. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm 7 Perlis RH, Ognyanova K, Uslu A, et al. Trust in Physicians and Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a 50-State Survey of US Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2424984. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24984. 8 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. NHE Fact Sheet | CMS. www.cms.gov. Published September 6, 2023. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/nhe-fact-sheet.