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Community Health Network surgeon to be inducted into AOSSM Hall of Fame

For release on July 07, 2016

INDIANAPOLIS – Dr. K. Donald Shelbourne, a Community Health Network orthopedic surgeon and former Indianapolis Colts’ team physician, will be inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Hall of Fame on July 8, during the society’s annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Those inducted into the Hall of Fame are individuals in the sports medicine community who have contributed immensely and set themselves apart from others in the field. Sixty-six North American and international individuals have been named to the Hall of Fame since 2001.

Shelbourne began his orthopedic sports medicine career in 1982. He graduated from Wabash College in 1972, where he was a first team Academic All-American as a football player and he received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship for wrestling. He completed medical school and his orthopedic residency at Indiana University School of Medicine from 1972 through 1981. Shelbourne obtained additional training during a sports medicine fellowship with Dr. William Clancy at the University of Wisconsin in 1981-82.

Shelbourne served as the team physician for the Indianapolis Colts from 1984-1998, and has been an orthopedic consultant to Purdue University, Wabash College and area high schools since 1982. He is an associate clinical professor at Indiana University School of Medicine at Indianapolis. He is also on the editorial board of the American Journal of Sports Medicine and serves as a reviewer for many other orthopedic journals.

Shelbourne became interested in sports medicine when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing football in college. He knew when he began his practice that he wanted to concentrate on the treatment, rehabilitation and research of ACL injuries. Since the beginning of his practice, he established a research department and prospective database for continually recording and evaluating his outcomes after surgery. He has performed more than 6,500 ACL reconstructions, and the follow-up he has obtained on these patients has allowed him to identify problems with treatment and the factors associated with optimum long-term outcomes.

Shelbourne is best known for his advancement of ACL rehabilitation, pioneering the contralateral ACL reconstruction technique and developing the accelerated ACL reconstruction rehabilitation protocol utilized around the world for obtaining a predictable, successful result while returning patients back to athletic activities quickly. In addition, the successful results from surgery have been maintained in the long-term without range of motion or strength loss in the knees. He has published more than 250 journal articles and book chapters and has presented his findings at national and international meetings. 

Shelbourne has won many prestigious awards, including:
• AOSSM Hughston Award (2000 and 2010)
• Honorary Doctorate of Science Degree, Wabash College (2001)
• Athletic Hall of Fame, Wabash College (1986)
• Indiana High School Wresting Hall of Fame (1991)
• Indiana Football Hall of Fame (2000)
• Division III Wresting Hall of Fame (2011)

Shelbourne was elected to the Herodicus Society in 1988. In addition to the Herodicus Society, he is a member of American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, The American Orthopaedic Association, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, ACL Study Group and Arthroscopy Association of North America.

Shelbourne is currently the medical director for the Shelbourne Knee Center at Community Westview Hospital in Indianapolis and continues to conduct long-term outcome research for knee conditions and injuries. 

About Community Health Network
Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes.  As a non-profit health system with over 200 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services.  To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

About The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine is a world leader in sports medicine education, research, communication and fellowship, and includes national and international orthopedic sports medicine leaders. The Society works closely with many other sports medicine specialists, including athletic trainers, physical therapists, family physicians, and others to improve the identification, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports injuries. AOSSM is also a founding partner of the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to prevent overuse and traumatic injuries in kids.

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Mark Orders-Woempner
PR/Media Relations Specialist