ANN ARBOR, MI — The University of Michigan will establish a new sports medicine institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan Medicine announced this week.
The facility will offer clinical evaluations, advanced imaging, surgical care, rehabilitation, and sports training, according to Dr. Asheesh Bedi, executive director and chief of sports medicine at Michigan Medicine. It is to provide “state-of-the-art therapies to prevent injury and maximize recovery and performance for athletes of all ages,” reads the press release.
The UM Board of Regents approved the creation of the institute at its meeting Thursday, Sept. 18.
It will be named the Nathan and Catherine Forbes Sports Medicine Institute in honor of Nathan Forbes, managing partner of The Forbes Co., developer, owner, and manager of luxury shopping destinations, and his wife Catherine. Their unspecified donation makes the project possible, Michigan Medicine reported.
Michigan Medicine is in the process of identifying a location and developing a timeline to construct the hub
“Michigan Medicine is expanding, and our sports medicine team is charting a clear path to the future,” Dr. David Miller, UM executive vice president for medical affairs and Michigan Medicine CEO, said the statement. “We are recognized as a top sports medicine provider, and with this institute, we will be uniquely positioned to advance the field for our patients, UM’s elite collegiate athletes, and professional athletes who will seek our care.”
Bedi said the hub will provide treatment to patients across athletic levels.
“There’s tremendous excitement and enthusiasm to be able to deliver great care for all our patients in the state of Michigan and really have a multidisciplinary approach for musculoskeletal and sports medicine injuries for athletes of every level,” Bedi said.
Bedi thanked the Nathan and Catherine Forbes for their contribution.
Nathan Forbes is an alumnus and the two are co-chairs of the university’s Look to Michigan campaign, the school’s largest-ever fundraising campaign with a $7 billion goal. The campaign was launched in October 2024 and over 230,000 donors have given $4.02 billion to the campaign, as of Sept. 5.
“Catherine and I are inspired by the vision of leadership this team has for sports medicine — an area of care that impacts so many people,” Nathan Forbes said in the Sept. 18 press release. “This institute marries our passion for advancing health care and our love of athletics at Michigan. This is a threshold moment that we hope will improve many people’s lives.”
Bedi explained the facility will be a part of a broader sports medicine network across Michigan. Launched in February, the network is composed of academic centers, such as UM Health-West, based in Wyoming, and the Sparrow Health System, headquartered in Lansing.
He said the new facility in Ann Arbor will be a “flagship of that statewide network.”
“This remarkably generous and transformative gift from Nate and Catherine Forbes has been such a catalyst to bring everybody together, Michigan Medicine, Michigan athletics and all of the remarkably talented faculty across all of our campuses,” Bedi said. “It’s a tremendous source of fulfillment and joy for me to be able to help lead this initiative to advance health care and, in particular, sports medicine at the University of Michigan.”
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