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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ** - The Giants' newest corporate partner will not only change the name on their building but will provide insights and ideas to keep the players healthier and improve the team's performance on the field.
The four-time Super Bowl champions today announced a partnership with Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of laboratory diagnostic information services. The Giants headquarters and training facility has been renamed the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Yesterday, the team and Timex announced they had terminated their partnership by mutual agreement.
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"The Giants will collaborate and consult with Quest to develop new sports diagnostics services," John Mara, the team's president and chief executive officer, said at a news conference announcing the alliance. "Our aim is to assist Quest in identifying and developing models and tests to help determine peak performance, provide meaningful training insights, reduce injuries and improve players' overall health. Quest will offer these services through its newly-formed sports diagnostic business."
Each year, a select group of Giants' players will be given the opportunity to volunteer to work with Quest in developing these models and tests. Player health and safety has been of paramount importance for our league and for this franchise for many years. We see our relationship with Quest as the next step in this process of improving the health of our players, not only during their careers but after their careers are over."
"As an organization, we are committed to the mission of maximizing game day performance and reducing injuries and improving overall health," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "We will be a great partner in collaborating with Quest to achieve our shared objectives. Any time you want to talk about maximizing performance and reducing injuries, I'm in great support of that. I personally welcome Quest to our team and look forward to working together with them for the greater good of the sport of football."
The relationship between the Giants and Quest began more than a year ago, when Ronnie Barnes – the team's senior vice president for medical services, who is beginning his 38th season with the Giants – received a phone call from someone at Quest expressing interest in new technologies to help prevent and recover from injuries.
"The Giants organization has always been focused with providing our players with the very best healthcare possible," Barnes said. "We have also done a tremendous amount of research and implemented new ideas in training, rehabilitation and injury prevention and we keep working on that. My role as a head athletic trainer for three decades has been to seek out the best possible healthcare specialists in the world for the benefit of our players. And in my short 38 years with the Giants, I've never been more proud of our commitment to assembling the best healthcare possible and the healthcare professionals that are going to be involved with Quest Diagnostics."
The collaboration between the Giants and Quest is logical for many reasons, including the fact that both entities call New Jersey home. Quest is headquartered in Madison, about a 30-minute drive from the training center that bears its name. Approximately 3,000 local employees are part of a workforce of 42,000 worldwide.
"We're drawn to the Giants not because they're just an excellent team in the NFL, but they've really distinguished themselves as a leader, and we like to be associated with leaders," said Steve Rusckowski, the president and CEO of Quest. "We also believe that the New York Giants are beyond football, they're really recognized in all professional sports, and we believe that putting the players first is important for all of us.
"In working through this, Ronnie is going to be working closely with our own doctor (Jon Cohen). And together, we will build a new business, the sports diagnostics business. And we believe this is an opportunity to combine all the information we have, and diagnostic information services, with the talent and capabilities here with the New York Giants, to really bring better health to the players of the Giants, to the players overall in professional sports, and to all of us that at some point and time that could utilize this information."
Barnes and Cohen will work together on several projects designed to improve player health and safety.
"We are at a time where we can measure and develop personalized plans for each athlete," Cohen said. "We know that player health and wellness is a top priority for the New York Giants franchise, which is why we believe they are a great partner for us to develop and enhance these kinds of offerings to professional and amateur athletes.
"The Giants have made it clear through their programs and actions their concern for the health and wellness of the greater community they serve, which includes their ex-players. Quest Diagnostics' program, which is called Blueprint for Wellness, is an innovative battery of tests that is designed to improve an individual's true understanding of their health by providing clear and simple explanations of their unique laboratory values and recommendations about how to improve their health. Almost 1.5 million across the country currently use this program. As part of this partnership, we plan to expand and develop that program and make it more accessible to the greater Giant community of prior players, supporters and fans."
INTERVIEWS FROM ANNOUNCEMENT
WATCH: Giants President John MaraWATCH: Giants SVP of Medical Services Ronnie Barnes
WATCH: Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski
WATCH: Giants Coach Tom Coughlin
WATCH: Quest Diagnostics SVP Dr. Jon Cohen
