NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University has officially renamed its Indoor Practice Facility as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center, marking a significant milestone in its partnership with OSF HealthCare.
To celebrate the new partnership, ISU and OSF HealthCare held an open house event, offering the community an opportunity to learn more about the collaboration and its impact on Redbird student-athletes.
The celebration took place before the ISU spring football game on April 12th. OSF STEAM set up a table where kids had the opportunity to learn about color blindness through special 3D glasses, along with other hands-on specimens designed to spark interest in science and potentially inspire future careers in medicine.
OSF Chief Medical Officer Carol Friesen emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating that healthcare and wellness are the foundation of strong communities.
“If we’re strong, the whole community benefits,” she said. “We wanted to make an investment in a way that would have a meaningful impact and further support the efforts happening here at ISU.”
The athletic department at ISU received a major financial gift from OSF HealthCare after the university signed a five-year agreement to make OSF its official athletic healthcare provider.
The open house celebration marks the joint effort of both organizations to motivate future scientists and healthcare professionals and athletes who will create enduring effects that reach further than athletic competition.