Vanderbilt Health is one of 12 of the nation’s premier providers of medical care that will begin offering services to any former National Football League player or team employee, and their families, under the banner of Hall of Fame Health.
The announcement of founding members in the Hall of Fame Health network is the latest development in the partnership the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Sovereign Healthcare formed in January to develop services and solutions to address the health and wellness needs of former players and their families. Access to top-tier providers across the country was established as a primary goal, and today’s announcement takes that first step in Hall of Fame Health’s ongoing mission.
As part of the agreement, Vanderbilt Health will work with Hall of Fame Health to provide a variety of services, some designed to fill gaps in existing coverage, along with concierge services to help former players and their families navigate the health care landscape. Offerings will complement services the NFL provides in the 30 cities where franchises are located and will add available in-network health options in areas of the country where thousands of NFL retirees are located.
“We have decades of experience caring for the unique and challenging health needs of elite athletes, world-class entertainers, corporate leaders and public figures of all kinds, so we feel it is our duty to step up and be involved early with Hall of Fame Health,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “Our region is home to many former players and their families, and we’re proud to be a resource for them as they start to play the long game with their health.”
Many of the strategies and programs to be deployed will be available not only for former NFL players and other personnel associated with NFL teams and the League, but also to the general public through partnerships around the country. In doing so, Hall of Fame Health seeks to impact the physical, mental and emotional health in communities nationwide.
“This network of world-class health systems, physician groups and provider organizations is committed to helping the Pro Football Hall of Fame serve former football players and their families as they look to navigate and gain access to the very best care,” said Jeremy Hogue, CEO of Hall of Fame Health. “It’s consistent with the hall’s mission ‘to honor the heroes of the game.’ In the community of former football players, there is a need. We’re rising to meet it.”
Hogue said an estimated 80% of the League’s nearly 20,000 former players are not covered under employer-sponsored medical plans and must shop for insurance coverage each year during the national open-enrollment period, which this year begins Nov. 1.
“These founding members of the network are strategically located where there are high concentrations of NFL retirees,” Hogue said. “The goals of all of the participating organizations go beyond care for former athletes. We will assess new technologies and therapies, undertake research and work to advance care in ways that can be extended to our communities and create meaningful health benefits for everyone.”
The broad undertaking of Hall of Fame Health will include additional health care services and benefits, innovative new business ventures, partnering with market leaders in various go-to-market strategies, coordinating game-changing research and raising funds for those in need of financial assistance or services.
“When we talk about ‘honoring the heroes of the game,’ it’s more than documenting their accomplishments on the field. It’s about caring about them off the field as well,” said David Baker, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “And that care is not limited to members of the Hall of Fame; it’s for everyone associated with the great game of football. Hall of Fame Health and these network partners will improve quality of life by providing world-class health care to the thousands of men and women who have been associated with the National Football League and its 32 clubs.”
Along with Vanderbilt Health, the Hall of Fame Health network includes other premier hospitals, physicians and orthopedic centers like Andrews Institute, Aultman Health, Baylor Scott & White Health, Emory Healthcare, HCA Houston Healthcare, HonorHealth, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (MOR), OrthoLoneStar, Providence St. John’s Health Center, Tampa General Hospital and UCSF Health.
