Doc Keeps Patients In The Game
/By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com
Dr. Michael A. Kennedy used a bad situation as a stepping stone for what would later become his career.
The Huntington-based primary care and sports-medicine physician recalled an injury he suffered as a teen playing football for Herricks High School in New Hyde Park.
He recovered with a new interest: helping others recover from similar injuries.
“As I went through my medical school and my training, I wanted to be more involved and take care of athletes,” Kennedy said.
Today, he treats both athletes of just about any sport suffering from sports-related injuries, and those with similar injuries, at his Expert Medical Care.
The center offers nonsurgical treatments for sprains, fractures, joint injuries, plantar fasciitis, arthritis, strains, tendonitis, various types of pain, and more.
“It’s all sports medicine, or a muscle-skeletal approach from a non-surgical standpoint,” Kennedy, 58, of Huntington, said. “We’re trying to get people out of pain, and manage their pain with alternative treatments.
“We’re in that zone, looking at those kinds of injuries that aren’t bad enough to require surgery, but need to be treated somehow.”
Depending on the injury, and/or the patient’s needs, Kennedy and his staff look at treatments that include BioDRestore stem cell infusion or Platelet Rich Plasma, which can help advance the healing process.
But that’s not all. Expert Medical Care also provides casting, suturing, on-site x-ray and MRI services, stress tests, concussion evaluations, customized fitness and wellness programs, drug screening programs for both sports teams and municipalities, and more.
Kennedy said his practice stays on top of the latest treatment methods for patients.
“We add some other new dimensions and new technology,” he said. “We try to stay as current as we can with the literature to provide the best care we can and give the most up-to-date treatments for our patients as well.”
Kennedy said his patients, whether it be the young children, seniors, or anyone in between, are one of the perks of the job. They’re great people and thought of as his big, extended family, he said.
He treats them out of 17 Southdown Road, Huntington, an office he moved the 7-year-old practice into two years ago.
There, Expert Medical Care doubles as an urgent care center, accepting patient walk-ins and offering late evening hours of availability.
To get to this point, after high school, Kennedy went on to earn a bachelor’s in biology and psychology in 1981, and then a doctorate in osteopathic medicine in 1986 from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He continued his education at The Johnson School of Graduate Business Management of Cornell University, earning an MBA in 2004.
Later, in 1987, he completed his sports medicine externship from the Sports Medicine Clinic in Seattle. He completed another externship in 1990 from the University of Pennsylvania Sports Medicine Center.
Kennedy has also been certified in advanced trauma life support, advanced cardiac life support, basic life support and pediatric advanced life support.
He is licensed in New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and North Carolina, and has several board certifications, including Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Outside of his practice, Kennedy also serves as team physician for the Valley Stream and East Williston school districts, and has done work for several pro sports teams, such as the Long Island Lizards lacrosse team.
“It’s been fun,” Kennedy said. “That’s why I did this seven years ago, because I really wanted to spend more time doing things I love to do.”