By: Kelli B. Skipper, Content Writer/Community Engagement Specialist, SeHealth
Eric A. Breitbart, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, has joined the medical staff of Southeastern Health (SeHealth) and will provide care at Southeastern Orthopedics.
Dr. Breitbart was a high school athlete who participated in soccer and ran track until an injury during his senior year forced him to have knee scopes on both knees. This was his first introduction into orthopedics and sports medicine, which set the stage for his career as an orthopedic surgeon. Additionally, it sparked his interest in helping athletes, which ultimately helped bring him to Lumberton.
A native of Northern New Jersey, Dr. Breitbart earned a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark in May 2009. He completed an orthopedic residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in June 2014 and a fellowship in sports medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia in July 2015, where he received specialized training in both adult sports medicine at UPenn and pediatric sports medicine through the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Dr. Breitbart’s specialized pediatric and adult sports medicine training is a new addition to the services now offered at Southeastern Orthopedics.
“Children are not just small adults in terms of orthopedics. Pediatric injuries are treated differently and in sports medicine it is the same thing,” said Dr. Breitbart. “Kids have different injury patterns. Treatment options and surgical procedures require modified techniques depending on the kid’s size.”
According to Dr. Breitbart, the best way to classify the difference between pediatric or adult sports medicine injuries is whether growth plates are still open – for boys that’s around 16 years old and girls around 14 years old.
Dr. Breitbart’s skill set will also be a great assistance in the continued development of SeHealth’s athletic training program.
For many years, SeHealth has operated an athletic training program providing limited coverage to Lumberton High School sporting events but in 2011 the organization decided to expand the program and began a partnership with the Public Schools of Robeson County. SeHealth hired six licensed, athletic trainers for each of Robeson County’s high schools. The trainers provide assistance during practices and games for student athletes to help prevent and care for injuries.
“This is a great opportunity for me to start a sports medicine program where there is a need for a sports surgeon,” said Dr. Breitbart.
Working with SeHealth’s athletic trainers, Dr. Breitbart will provide care to local high school athletes as well as work alongside the trainers of the NCAA Division II University of North Carolina Pembroke (UNCP) to provide care for college athletes.
Dr. Breitbart said his role in connection with the trainers is to try to fill the gap of care and streamline the patient care process for student athletes. He will be in direct communication with the trainers, and together they will assist athletes in getting diagnosed and treated as safely and efficiently as possible.
“Trainers are the eyes and ears on the field and are great physician extenders. It is important to have them,” Dr. Breitbart said.
He will also assist with the UNCP athletic training program and will offer a weekly clinic to give college athletes the opportunity to have more access to care. He will also provide coverage at home UNCP football games and some other UNCP sporting events as well.
“It is important for SeHealth to partner with the high schools and college because we are the main and only hospital in the county,” Dr. Breitbart said. “We need to provide sports medicine services to high school and college athletes because any student should have that opportunity and deserves to have someone treat them.”
In addition to overseeing the athletic training program, Dr. Breitbart will also be joining the faculty of Campbell University’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine as an assistant professor and actively participate in the education of medical students and residents.
“I’m excited to join the hospital and provide a service that hasn’t been here in a long time and to work alongside coaches, trainers and students in the area,” Dr. Breitbart said. “Also this is a great opportunity to help educate medical students with Campbell.”
Dr. Breitbart is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM). At this time, he has published 15 peer-reviewed articles in the field of Orthopedics, holds 2 U.S. patents with several more pending. He currently lives in Hope Mills.
Southeastern Orthopedics is located at Southeastern Health Park, 4901 Dawn Drive, Suite 2300, Lumberton. Referral requirements are based on insurance coverage plans. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (910) 738-1065.
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