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Blessing Health System has announced a partnership with the Riverfront Athletic Association and has committed its resources and expertise to help launch the enterprise and support young athletes as they strive to achieve optimal athletic performance.
“Blessing’s mission is to improve lives, and we believe that ties in well with the Riverfront Athletic Association’s goals,” said Brad Billings, president and CEO of Blessing Corporate Services. “Caren Kemner has an incredible vision, and this effort is certain to create unprecedented athletic opportunities for area youth, while also supporting families, promoting health and wellness, and creating an economic boost for the community.”
Kemner, a Quincy native and three-time member of the U.S. Olympic volleyball team, announced in March the formation of the Riverfront Athletic Association, a committee of parents, athletes and business leaders who are working toward accreditation with the Community Olympic Development Program.
The goal of the association and its nonprofit umbrella organization, Quincy International Sports Expo, is to create opportunities for young athletes in every sport with an Olympic or Paralympic committee, from volleyball to badminton to wheelchair basketball.
Once accredited, the association will help bring funding and Olympic athletes and coaches to Quincy and will be part of a pipeline to nationally recognized sports tournaments, camps and clinics.
“We made a decision to be part of the capital formation for the business enterprise to be successful. We want to be at the forefront of that. In addition, Blessing is committed to providing new services that are not yet available in this community,” Billings said.
“I’m really excited about this partnership with Blessing,” Kemner said. “Obviously financially it helps us get courts and equipment. But ultimately this is going to help enrich the lives of kids within a two-hour radius of Quincy. I’m particularly excited about Blessing’s interest in helping support Paralympic athletes.”
Billings said that Blessing can immediately provide resources to athletes, including nutritional expertise of registered dietitians and the knowledge of its rehabilitation team, which is nationally accredited and affiliated with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the nation’s premier rehabilitation provider.
“Beyond that, as the enterprise matures and brings on other dimensions such as Paralympic sports, we will grow with that,” Billings said. “We will grow our services to meet the specialized needs of those athletes. This energizes us as a health-care facility to stay engaged and evolve our own services.”
Such growth could include new rehabilitation services, as well as expanding medical specialties such as orthopedics, sports medicine and physical medicine.
Billings said Blessing also has the potential to provide an often overlooked aspect of athletic training.
“This community already has the resources to train people physically, but there is another dimension of training, the mental training, that goes into athletic performance at a high level,” Billings said. “An elite athlete will need access to those kinds of services, and we have the potential to grow our behavioral health services to meet this demand.”
Blessing’s announcement comes as activity is beginning to take place at K&L Arena, 1600 N. 43rd St., where the Riverfront Athletic Association is headquartered. Flooring for multipurpose volleyball and basketball courts has been installed on the north side of the complex. Kemner said the flooring is the same playing surface used by Olympic athletes.
Kemner’s first volleyball clinics will begin in the facility by the end of June.
On the Web:
Blessing Health System: www.blessinghealthsystem.com
Riverfront Athletic Association: www.riverfrontathletics.com
Blessing Health Systems public relations provied information for this report.
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