UPMC Becomes ‘Official Health Care Partner to the GAA and GPA’
By: Courtney Caprara
UPMC has joined with Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic Players Association (GPA) to become “Official Health Care Partner to the GAA and GPA.” As UPMC continues to expand access to high-quality health care in Ireland, this partnership and sponsorship agreement will facilitate collaboration with these leading sports organizations to promote the health of Gaelic players and the communities where they play.
The GAA and GPA are dedicated to advancing traditional Gaelic sports, such as hurling, football, handball and rounders, in Ireland and abroad, while also promoting Irish music, language and culture. Ireland’s largest sporting organization, the GAA has remained an amateur organization since its founding in 1884 and today operates more than 2,200 clubs in all 32 counties of Ireland.
This announcement builds on UPMC’s existing work with the GAA, which focuses on raising concussion awareness in Ireland through the National Concussion Symposium and the UPMC Concussion Network, the first nationwide network established for concussion diagnosis and care.
“UPMC has a long tradition of caring for athletes at all levels, just as we do with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins,” said David Beirne, senior vice president of UPMC International and managing director of UPMC in Ireland. “This partnership with the GAA and GPA will allow us to work with the leaders of these sporting organizations to find innovative ways to support the well-being of their players, on and off the field.”
Since bringing advanced radiotherapy to the southeast of Ireland in 2006, UPMC has expanded to include UPMC Whitfield Hospital, two UPMC Hillman Cancer Center locations in Waterford and Cork, the newly acquired UPMC Kildare Hospital in Clane and the UPMC Carlow Outreach Center.
UPMC is the main sponsor of the Waterford IT Vikings GAA Club, naming partner to UPMC Nowlan Park, the home of Kilkenny GAA, and headline sponsor of the 2020 UPMC Ashbourne Cup Weekend. In Pittsburgh, UPMC International supports the Pittsburgh Gaelic Athletic Association.
