Home : Orthopaedics

CHA SPORTS MEDICINE STAFF

Appointments and Information:

Call 617-665-2007

Sports Medicine Physicians:

Rob Nicoletta, MD, is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in sports related injuries of the knee, shoulder, ankle and elbow. He completed a fellowship in sports medicine and arthroscopy at Boston University where he was as an assistant team physician along with serving as team physician at UMass Boston. He is currently the Director of the Division of Sports Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance.

Dr. Nicoletta has extensive experience in advanced arthroscopic procedures of the knee and shoulder. He is the Head Team Physician and Medical Director for the Boston Blazers Professional Indoor Lacrosse Team and the Boston Breakers Women's Professional Soccer Team along with serving as orthopaedic team physician to many local colleges and high schools.

He is a leader in the field of orthopaedic sports medicine and is the author of numerous journal articles and textbook chapters in the field of sports related injuries. He is currently seeing new patients at CHA's Cambridge Hospital campus and the Occupational Health and Orthopaedic Center at CHA Assembly Square in Somerville.

Jeffrey B. Kreher, MD, FAAP, is a pediatrician, internist, and sports medicine expert who specializes in non-surgical management of sports injuries. He is board certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine.

Dr. Kreher sees patients at CHA Assembly Square in Somerville, East Cambridge Health Center, Cambridge, and Somerville Primary Care.

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Kreher is both a Sox and a Cardinals fan. He has a varied education including time at the Air Force Academy, St. Louis, and Stuttgart, Germany. His medicine career has included a year as Chief Resident of Med/Peds at Indiana University, one of the largest and oldest Med/Peds residencies, and four years in community practice in addition to his specialty training. His interests are primarily the care of the young athlete, the multisport athlete, and exercise promotion for the prevention of chronic adult diseases (i.e. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity). He has multiple extracurricular interests including his son and daughter, multi-sport, anything outdoors, and youth leadership. He serves as a reviewer for Sports Health and sits on the Education and Publications Committees for the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine (AMSSM). In addition, he will co-chair AMSSM's first position paper covering ADHD and the athlete.

Sports Medicine Manager

Charles "Tony" Manry is the Ambulatory Rehab manager for the Cambridge Health Alliance, managing both the Assembly Square and Whidden Memorial Hospital out-patient Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech-language Pathology departments. In addition he manages the Sports Medicine department within the department of Orthopaedics. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Purdue University in Speech-Language Pathology and a Master's of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Rush University. He is currently completing a Master's of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Sports Medicine Physician Assistants:

Kerry Hanssen, PAC, is a certified Physician Assistant in the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. She received her Master's of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2005 at Northeastern University. She also holds a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from Boston University and is a registered physical therapist. She has specific interest in the area of sports medicine particularly in injury prevention in the adolescent athlete and has worked extensively with Massachusetts USA gymnastics in this area. She has extensive experience in the rehabilitation and treatment of athletes at all competitive and recreational levels. She sees patients at the Occupational and Orthopaedic Health Center in Somerville's Assembly Square and at the CHA Cambridge campus.

A Physician Assistant is a trained medical provider that performs physical examinations, diagnoses and treats illnesses, provides preventative medicine counseling and patient education, orders and interprets lab tests, sutures wounds, assists in surgery, and makes rounds in nursing homes and hospitals. In Massachusetts and 47 other states, PAs are allowed to prescribe medication.

Sports Medicine Athletic Trainers:

Dawn Purington, M.ED., ATC, is a Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainer who works with several local professional sports teams. She is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, and Temple University, where she earned a Masters of Education in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine.

Over the past 10 years, Dawn has worked in a variety of sports settings. Most recently, she has been Head Athletic Trainer for the Boston Blazer's Indoor Major League Lacrosse franchise. Prior to this she was Assistant Athletic Trainer and on the Clinical Faculty of Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, where she focused her energies on Division I Hockey East - Men's Ice Hockey program. She also served as Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Pennsylvania, where she cared for the Women's Soccer, Women's Gymnastics and Men's Lacrosse teams. She was the Head Athletic Trainer at the 2005 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships and has published research on Gymnastics Tumbling Maneuvers.

Jeff Farrell, ATC is a Certified & Licensed Athletic Trainer (ATC). He graduated from Bridgewater State College in 1997 and has been certified since. Jeff works primarily at Arlington High School providing services to the entire school's athletic department. He also works at Assembly Square assisting the Physical Therapist with treatment of patients and has worked with every level of athletics from youth sports to professional sports.

Jeff is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and currently serves in the Army National Guard as a Medic. His own athletic experience includes football, track & field, skiing & mountain biking.

The primary role of an Athletic Trainer is the evaluation and treatment of injuries that occur during athletics. They act as a bridge for the athlete to parents, coaches and other medical professionals. For more information on Athletic Training, www.nata.org has numerous resources for the public which describe the profession.

Sports Medicine Physical Therapists:

Nancy Banfield, MSPT is a Massachusetts Licensed Physical Therapist. With a Master's of Science in Physical Therapy from Boston University, Nancy has over 11 years of experience in various PT settings including but not limited to acute care, outpatient orthopaedics and aquatic PT. She enjoys treating physical therapy patients of all ages and helping them achieve their rehabilitation goals. Nancy currently works as a Staff Physical Therapist in the Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation department of Whidden Memorial Hospital campus.

Darci Mayette, MSPT is a Massachusetts Licensed Physical Therapist. She graduated from the University of Hartford in January 2007 with a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy. Darci has worked at the Occupational Health and Orthopaedic Center at Assembly Square for over two years. She has worked a full season with each of the professional sports teams: Boston Breakers, Boston Militia and Boston Blazers. Her interests are in the rehabilitation of orthopaedic and sports injuries using functional and sports specific approaches. She works closely with all members of the sports medicine team.

Darci has completed research regarding measuring hand volume changes using the figure of eight method. She has a published article in The British Journal of Hand Therapy.

Darci and her co-workers have developed an ACL prevention program, which is targeted to reduce the likelihood of ACL tears in girls aged 14-24. The program is currently being offered through Cambridge Health Alliance. She is also being certified to perform Functional Movement Screens for the professional sports teams as well as local high schools and colleges.

Joy Shine is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology and a Masters degree in Physical Therapy. Joy has been an active part of the Sports Medicine Team since joining CHA in February 2007, and has worked very closely with the women's professional soccer team, The Boston Breakers, and the men's professional Indoor Lacrosse Team, The Boston Blazers. Joy is also on of the founders of the ACL injury prevention program in place at CHA, and has been in the community to educate high school students regarding injury prevention. Joy played soccer, basketball, and ran track throughout school.

Nick Wilson is a Massachusetts licensed Physical Therapist with 5 years experience in orthopaedics, spine, and sports medicine. Nick graduated with Honors and Distinction from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and was awarded the Quebec Prize for Clinical Excellence in 2004. Joining Cambridge Health Alliance in 2006, Nick is a member of the outpatient sports medicine rehab team, working with the Boston Breakers and Boston Blazers. Nick has particular interest in sport specific training, strength and conditioning, and manual therapy. Areas of specific practice include Medical Exercise Therapy (MET) and Mulligan Manual Therapy. Nick is fluent in French, and enjoys playing ice hockey, soccer, cycling and snowboarding. Nick lives in Brookline Massachusetts with his wife Melanie and dog Conan.