Gus Macker returns this summer to Chillicothe, hosted by Adena Health Foundation

Gus Macker, the three-on-three basketball tournament, returns to Chillicothe this summer. It will be held July 17 and 18 at the Chillicothe High School parking area, in Chillicothe.

For the first time, the Adena Health Foundation will host this year’s event, with the help of Adena sports medicine physicians, athletic trainers and therapists. 

Proceeds will benefit the Foundation’s mission of helping improve the region’s quality of life, helping purchase medical equipment and technology, and also support educational and training experiences.

“We’re pleased to be able to continue this great tradition here in Chillicothe,” said
Dr. Aaron Roberts, a sports medicine physician at Adena.

When last year’s Gus Macker Tournament found itself without medical coverage weeks before the event, Roberts and fellow sports medicine physicians, Drs. Anthony Lattavo and W. Bradley Strauch, provided their services.

“We said we would love to do it’,” Roberts said. Along with the physicians, athletic trainers and therapists associated with Adena also volunteered their time and skills.

It would have been unthinkable not to have the tournament, Strauch said.
“Chillicothe has hosted the event for 20 years so we have a strong relationship with Gus Macker,” he said.

Considering it attracts thousands of people, it’s important to the community, added Brandi Scott, a physical therapist assistant and clinic lead at the Adena Rehab and Wellness Center, who played an important role in organizing last year’s event and is involved in this year’s planning.

“In past years, we had as many as 1,100 teams,” she said, and that doesn’t include spectators.

“It feels good to give back to the community,” Strauch said. While Adena is rapidly becoming a highly sophisticated regional medical center, “we can’t forget our roots as a community hospital,” he said. 
 
 
 
 
 

Earlier this year, sports medicine physicians approached Ralph Metzger, executive director of the Adena Health Foundation because of the foundation’s involvement in the community.

With Metzger’s help, this year’s event promises to attract teams from throughout the tri-state region.

For more information about this year’s Gus Macker Tournament, and to register a team, visit www.macker.com. 

About Adena Health Foundation

The Adena Health Foundation is the fund-raising and grant-making organization for Adena Health System. The Foundation provides essential financial support for programs and services provided by Adena Health System.

About Adena Health System

Adena Health System is an independent, not-for-profit and locally controlled healthcare organization serving the needs of 10 counties in south-central Ohio and employing more than 2,000 people. Adena provides specialty services typically found in larger medical centers, like open heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, cancer care and advanced orthopedic procedures, including reverse shoulder surgery, total joint replacement and minimally invasive spine surgery. The health system is based in Chillicothe, Ohio.