Howard Head Sports Medicine

08/20/2025

08/18/2025

🔆❕WELCOME TO THE TEAM(S)❕🔆

We’re so happy to announce that we’ve welcomed five new clinicians to Howard Head Sports Medicine across each of our regions! From L➡️R:

🔆Julia Wopat PT, DPT- HHSM Frisco
🔆Lauren Macleod OTR/L- HHSM Edwards
🔆Barbara Burns PT, DPT- HHSM Vail Inpatient
🔆Sarah Boak PT, DPT, OCS- HHSM Basalt
🔆Taylor Hyde PT, DPT, SCS- HHSM Basalt

From pediatrics and neuro rehab to pelvic health, vestibular therapy, and advanced sports performance- this powerhouse addition of clinicians brings a wide range of specialties.

With certifications in dry needling, BFR (blood flow restriction) training, ACL and return-to-sport protocols, PLUS experience in both outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation, they’re equipped, (and excited!) to treat individuals across all stages of life and recovery💪

WELCOMEJulia, Lauren, Barbara, Sarah and Taylor! We are so glad to have you!

08/13/2025

📈HOWARD HEAD CLINICAL EXCELLENCE📈

We’re excited to welcome our very first Speech-Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow (SLP-CFY)!
The Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) is a transitional period for speech-language pathologists who have completed their graduate training and are working toward full licensure and certification. During this time, the SLP-CFY provides care under supervision while gaining hands-on experience and further developing clinical skills.

Please join us in giving our Mallory Skidmore Moller MS, CF-SLP a warm welcome—we’re thrilled to support her on this next step of her professional journey!

A little more about Mallory:
Mallory is a Vail Valley native who graduated from Battle Mountain High School and received her master’s in speech language pathology from the University of Vermont. She enjoys working with individuals across all ages and populations. She is particularly passionate about early childhood education, especially supporting the development of early literacy skills as well as cognitive communication and dysphagia related to stroke rehabilitation.

08/07/2025

We are extending a ❕BIG CONGRATS❕to Elle Valentine PT, DPT, ATC, as the next Lead of our Brain & Balance Care Program and Team!

Elle brings an 🌟OUTSTANDING🌟combination of clinical expertise, an aptitude for leadership, and a genuine passion for patient-centered care. We look forward to watching her carry this program forward with dedication and vision.
With a background that includes work in collegiate athletics, the NFL and the NBA, Elle has a wealth of experience managing concussions and vestibular conditions in high-performance environments.
Since joining Howard Head, she has made a clear impact; expanding access to care in the Roaring Fork Valley, helping grow the Basalt Howard Head Brain & Balance Care program, and building strong collaborative relationships across disciplines and in the community.
We are so excited to see you excel in this new role, Elle! Congratulations!
💪♥️

The Howard Head Sports Medicine Brain & Balance Care Team’s mission is to bring quality care to the people that suffer from concussion, dizziness and fall related impairments in order to return individuals to their active lifestyle in the safest and most effective way possible.
Concussions, vertigo and aging can compromise the vestibular system, causing headaches, balance impairment and sometimes dizziness. Vail Health Howard Head Sports Medicine’s brain and balance specialists work with Colorado Mountain Medical’s primary care providers to treat these symptoms and get you back to the activities you love.

We offer therapy for the following:
✔️Concussion Therapy
✔️Fall Risk Prevention
✔️Speech Therapy
✔️Vestibular Therapy

For more information, visit www.howardhead.org

&BalanceCare

08/05/2025

Join Us Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5th!

2:00-4:00PM at the Shaw Cancer Center Conference Room in Edwards.
Join new moms, (babies age 0-9months) to share in the trials and tribulations of motherhood!

Howard Head Physical Therapist, Kristin Thomas, will be sharing her expert knowledge in “The Importance of Tummy Time & Gross Motor Skill Development.”

🌟More About Kristin🌟
Kristin is a board-certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy. After attending the University of Michigan for her undergraduate education, she received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, graduating in 2013. She began her physical therapy career at Children’s Hospital Colorado where she started the rehabilitation department in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. After 4 years at Children’s Hospital Colorado, she worked as a travel physical therapist before being drawn back to her home state and the mountains of the Vail Valley. She continues to be drawn to treating children and loves helping kids and families return to doing what they love. She is also passionate continuing her involvement in oncology rehabilitation and collaborates with providers at Shaw Cancer Center to optimize outcomes for women going through treatment for breast cancer. When she is not at work, she can be found running, biking, hiking, or skiing with her dog.

08/04/2025

We had an amazing evening at the Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance, (VVMTA) Trails Forever Fundraiser, celebrating over a decade of trail building and community connection!
We’re excited to continue our partnership with the VVMTA, which is rooted in our shared passion for movement, wellness and outdoor stewardship💪🌲🌻🏔️

Through the Vail Valley Running Club and Vail Valley Mountain Bike Club, we’re deepening our investment in the trails that bring us together-whether on foot or by bike.

We’re also thrilled to highlight the Team of the Month: Vail Valley Running Club!
This dedicated group is helping ensure runners have a strong presence in the trail community, not just through events, but through action. They turned out 23 volunteers to help clean up East Lake Creek Trail, with a special shoutout to team leaders Kelly and Jimmy Daly for rallying the crew! Together, we’re protecting and enhancing the wild spaces that make the Vail Valley so special.

Here’s to what we’ve accomplished, and what’s still ahead!

07/31/2025

🤩Meet our 2025/2026 Hand Therapy Fellow, Joan ‘Joanie’ Kelso OTR, OTD🤩

Raised in Galveston, Texas, Joanie pursued her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She continued her education at the University of Texas Medical Branch, earning a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy in 2023. After working as a therapist in acute care, she accepted the hand therapy fellowship position at Howard Head to pursue her passion of treating injuries of the upper extremity. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, and playing tennis and pickle ball.

We are so happy to have you on our Team, Joanie, and we look forward to seeing you excel in your Fellowship🙌

07/28/2025

⭐️LIVE WHERE YOU PLAY.
⭐️GROW YOUR SKILLS.
⭐️JOIN OUR BASALT TEAM!

We are seeking a full-time Physical Therapist to join our dynamic Team in beautiful Basalt, CO.
For questions and more information, email lauren.rust@vailhealth.org.

07/24/2025

07/24/2025

CONGRATS ARE IN ORDER for Howard Head Sports Medicine’s Class of 2025 Residents & Fellow!

From L to R: Congratulations🎉 to George Ruddy for completing the Howard Head Sports Physical Therapy Residency, Jason Lobdell & Mark Dudek for completing the Howard Head Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency Program, and Emily Ryon for completing the Hand Therapy Fellowship for Occupational Therapists. We also congratulate👏 Lindsey Duhammel, (not pictured) for also completing the Howard Head Sports Physical Therapy Residency!

Your dedication, hard work, and passion for helping others has paid off, and we couldn’t be more proud of your accomplishments!

The HHSM Sports and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency & Hand Therapy Fellowship Programs are guided by faculty and mentors who bring a wealth of knowledge to each Class, ensuring lasting contributions to our Mountain Communities.

Cheers✨ to new beginnings and endless possibilities for the Class of 2025!

07/21/2025

👏👏👏

10K (age-group place, name, time, overall place) Female 19 and under Male 19 and under Female 20-29 Male 20-29 Female 30-39 Male 30-39 Female 40-49 Male 40-49 Female 50-59 Male 50-59 Female 60-69 Male 60-69...

07/18/2025

Volume Up🔈 & Grab Your Tissues!

Since 2018, Howard Head Sports Medicine has recognized a Team member with the Spirit of Excellence Award.

This peer-to-peer nominated award was created in honor and memory of Howard Head Physical Therapist, Eric Dube. Many of our Team members had the fortune of knowing Eric as a colleague, mentor and friend.
Together, we have grown and accomplished so much-striving for the excellence and amazing Team dynamic that would make Eric so proud♥️

Those who receive this special award demonstrate excellence in clinical and non-clinical settings, positivity, exceptional care, and is a role model for others here at Howard Head.

Congratulations to Ana Robinson PT, DPT, OCS on being chosen as this year’s Spirit of Excellence winner!

“To know Ana is to love Ana. From day one at HHSM, she’s brought light, humor, and heart into every space she enters. She has this quiet consistency that makes you feel better just by being around her- whether it’s a quick hallway chat or a long conversation, you always leave encouraged, steadier, and usually laughing.
Ana leads with humility, mentors with patience, and somehow manages to be everywhere at once- supporting residents, teammates, surgeons, and patients like it’s second nature. She’s a true 🩷Wonder Woman🩷 who’s helped shape the culture we all get to be a part of. Whether it’s crushing research, stepping up as team lead, or just being the one person you know you can count on, Ana shows up fully and with heart. She’s left a legacy here, and we’re all better for it♥️”

We are so honored to have worked alongside you for almost TWENTY YEARS ! We will miss you, and we are excited for your next chapter.

Another HUGE congrats to each of the 18 Spirit of Excellence nominees! Each nomination is well deserved and all of you emulate the unique qualities we especially loved and admired in Eric.