Orlando, FL – Dr. James R. Andrews, MD, orthopaedic sports medicine leader and past American orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) President, was inducted into the AOSSM Hall of Fame on Friday July 10th in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Benjamin Thompson, MD of Access Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics trained under Dr. Andrews and completed a Fellowship in Sports Medicine.
While working with Dr. Andrews and Dr. Lonnie Paulos at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Dr. Thompson’s team physician experience included coverage of the 2010 Division I National Champion Auburn University Football team, the 2011 Division II National Champion University of West Florida Baseball team, and Escambia High School athletic teams.
In reflecting on his time with Dr. Andrews, Dr. Thompson expressed enthusiasm at his impending induction.
“There is no one that is more deserving of induction to the AOSSM hall of fame than Dr. James R. Andrews. Dr. Andrews treats each and every patient with the same care and attention whether they are an injured NFL quarterback or a scared teenage pitcher who just wants a chance to throw a baseball one more time. He is a pioneer in the field of arthroscopy and sports medicine and has made it his life’s work to educate the future leaders of the field not just to become world class sports medicine surgeons, but also to become ambassadors of his educational vision,” noted Dr. Thompson. “The year that I spent training with him taught me that the prevention of one youth athletic injury is just as important as being able to perform the most complex arthroscopic procedure. This is a message that I have taken on myself to try to pass on to my patients, my colleagues, as well as the communities that I live and work in. It is the great honor of my professional life that I was given the privilege of training with him.”
Dr. Andrews is one of the founding members of the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also founding partner and medical director of Andrews Institute and Andrews Research and Education Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida and played a crucial role developing the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to help prevent athletic overuse and trauma injuries in kids.
