In-person safety and risk platform Go4 has acquired Hawk SportsMed Consulting and named Dr. Mark Sakr, the University of Arizona’s Sports Medicine Director, as its new medical director leading Go4 Medical.
The acquisition gives Go4 the first vertically-connected safety platform from medical governance to sideline coverage. The physician setting the protocol and the athletic trainer carrying it out in the field typically come from different vendors, but Go4 Medical will have medical oversight, policy, sideline staffing and injury documentation on one platform.
The new division brings about 130 physicians to Go4’s network; the platform also has over 26K athletic trainers available for hire nationwide and provides staffing, emergency action plans and HIPAA-compliant injury documentation for 12K youth sports organizations, schools, tournament operators, clubs, colleges and facilities.
Sakr has operated Hawk SportsMed for the last few years, including in his role as USA Rugby’s medical director. Go4 Medical will now handle the NGB’s safety and wellness needs, including administrative tasks, oversight, policies and protocol, staffing and U.S. SafeSport compliance. Sakr is also the CrossFit Games’ medical director.
Go4 Medical recently handled medical services and operations for the New Zealand-South Africa rugby test match at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium as part of its partnership with TEG Live, an events company that also handles European soccer exhibition tours. Talks are ongoing with other platforms across all events as well.
“The need (for the services) became more evident on the club sports level, the collegiate level and in youth sports,” Sakr told Buying Sandlot. “More and more questions kept popping up: ‘Can we do this? Could you do this? Could you do that?’
“We developed a team of doctors and ATs all over the country that were great. People who wanted to help and be involved in sports, be on the sidelines engaged and doing things the right way. The conversation started with Go4 around how we could utilize the work I was doing, plus their infrastructure and network to deliver high-level sports and event medicine across the board and across the country. … There should be a policy. There should be an approach. There should be people thinking through, ‘How do we take care of these kids while they're out there?’”
Sakr expects the physician network will grow quickly as he transitions into a full-time role at Go4. The initial focus will be bringing physician-led governance to the organizations, events and facilities Go4 already partners, but it may pursue other avenues similar to its wide-ranging AT offerings as the division evolves.
“I think if we have the right process and system in place, we can plug and play different wants and needs,” he said. “How do we help solve problems and make things safer? That's the goal of what we're trying to do.”
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