Apr. 26—Advanced Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine recently welcomed a new member to its team.

Dr. Bryce Meredith, a fellowship-trained primary care sports medicine specialist and board-certified family medicine doctor, joined the practice April 17.

Having completed his first week, Meredith is happy being part of the practice.

"I think Advanced (is) a great group, and they're well established here in the Owensboro area, but also in the outlying counties," Meredith, 36, said. "They are already providing great quality care to the area and also just have a great vision for orthopedics, sports medicine and healthcare in general. I was really excited about the opportunity to join them and just help out the team."

"All of us at Advanced Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine are focused on our patients and providing outstanding care to keep them active and healthy," said Dr. Charles Milem, board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Advanced, in a press release. "Dr. Meredith shares this dedication, and that is why he will be an excellent asset to our patients and community as a member of our team."

Raised in Leitchfield, Meredith is a graduate of Grayson County High School. He attended undergrad at Centre College in Danville before earning his medical degree from the University of Pikeville — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Meredith completed his family and community medicine residency at the University of Kentucky and furthered his training through an advanced fellowship in primary care sports medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Prior to arriving at Advanced, Meredith was employed at Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center in Leitchfield for about four years.

Meredith, who grew up playing basketball and tennis, said this line of work has been of interest for some time.

"(I) always enjoyed being on sports teams, (and) it really piqued my interest into sports medicine," he said, "and it allowed me an opportunity to kind of just get a deeper idea of sports medicine and become part of the team again.

"I enjoy taking care of athletes; it's a real joy, (and) I truly feel like everyone can be an athlete. ... An athlete can be anybody that just wants to exercise, and we can all work on our physical well-being. (And) even with sports medicine, there's that mental well-being as well."

Meredith specializes in a broad range of orthopedic needs, including arthritis management, concussion evaluation and treatment, joint injections, sports-related injuries and sports performance and nutrition.

One of the areas Meredith hopes to bring attention to is concussion care.

"At Marshall, where I did my fellowship, we saw a lot of concussions ...," he said. "It's a real hot topic in sports medicine. Concussion care has evolved even in the last five, 10, 15, 20 years; and I really felt like my fellowship at Marshall not only set me up for providing good quality care in sports medicine, but really in concussion care as well.

"... I think I can really expand on that here. I think that's something we can really look into and hopefully get cutting edge concussion treatments and therapies and protocols in place here to keep our athletes safe and also get them back to their sport in a timely manner, but in a safe manner."

Patients seeking specialized nonsurgical bone, joint and muscle care are encouraged to call 270-926-4100 to be seen at the Advanced Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine's office at Ridgecrest Medical Park, 2831 New Hartford Road.

For more information, visit advancedcenterfororthopedics.com.