Since its founding in 2007 by Baptist Health Care and Dr. James Andrews, the Andrews Institute has treated many of country’s elite amateur, professional and Olympic athletes.

Yet it is the institute’s outreach programs that have had the biggest impact in Northwest Florida.

For example, Andrews provides certified athletic trainers to all 23 public high schools in a four-county area at no charge. “When you look at sports medicine coverage for high schools across the country, what we are able to provide our community is very rare,” says Dr. David Joyner, senior vice president and executive director of Andrews Institute. “This is a testament to the mission of Baptist Health Care and the vision of Dr. James Andrews. We make it a priority to take care of the youth athletes in our area.”

Other free programs Andrews offers include concussion testing for local high school and college athletes.

“What this free testing does is basically gives us a cognitive, vision and a balance reading when they are at a regular, non-symptomatic state,” says Sean Sullivan, Andrews’ marketing director. “When an athlete suffers a concussion, this gives us baseline that must be cleared for them to return to play.”

Andrews also is a major economic contributor to the area, with 310 full-time employees and a payroll of $31 million. When combined with the adjacent Gulf Breeze Hospital, also a division of Baptist Health Care, the annual payroll is just shy of $100 million.

“The importance of Andrews Institute to the city of Gulf Breeze and the Northwest Florida community cannot be overstated,” says Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser.