Contact: John Pontarelli or Mary Ann Schultz  
Phone: 312-942-5949 or 942-7816 
Email: jpontare@rush.edu, mary_ann_schultz@rush.edu

Sports medicine and internal medicine physicians from Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center have been selected to serve as team physicians for the Chicago Bulls. Rush University Medical Center is the team’s preferred Medical Center.

"I wanted our players, staff and front office personnel to have the absolute best medical expertise available," said Fred Tedeschi, Head Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bulls. "Our team’s health is paramount to success on the court and selecting a superior medical team was of the utmost importance. I am confident that the staff of Midwest Orthopaedics and Rush University Medical Center will provide our organization with the ultimate health care."

Dr. Brian Cole, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, will serve as head team physician for the Bulls. Colleagues Dr. Bernard R. Bach, Jr., Dr. Gregory P. Nicholson, Dr. Kathleen M. Weber, Dr. Charles A. Bush-Joseph, Dr. George Holmes, Jr., Dr. Anthony A. Romeo and Dr. Nikhil Verma will all serve as co-team physicians. Cole, Bush-Joseph, Bach, Nicholson, Romeo and Verma are orthopedic surgeons who specialize in sports medicine. Weber is board certified in internal medicine and sports medicine and Holmes is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle reconstruction. Two additional internal medicine specialists at Rush, Dr. Scott Palmer and Dr.William Kehoe, round out the medical team for the Bulls.

"We’re there to work with Fred Tedeschi to make sure the Bulls players are in optimal condition, and that if an injury does occur, we can provide an accurate, rapid diagnosis and initial care to minimize time off the court," said Cole.

An orthopedics specialist and an internal medicine specialist will attend each of the 45 Bulls home games. The team physicians will also provide care for visiting team players, coaches and referees.

Rush University Medical Center’s orthopedics program is ranked #1 in Illinois according to U. S. News and World Report magazine’s "Best Hospitals 2004" issue. Rush also has one of the top sports medicine residency and fellowship training programs in the country.

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Rush University Medical Center includes the 824-bed Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital; 110-bed Johnston R. Bowman Health Center; and Rush University (home to Rush Medical College, the College of Nursing, the College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College).

Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush is a highly subspecialized orthopaedic group practice of more than twenty-five physicians. The physicians of MOR are board certified and fellowships trained in their subspecialty, hold academic appointments at Rush Medical College, are on staff at Rush University Medical Center and are active in research. The physicians also provide services at Central Du Page and Oak Park Hospitals