University of Georgia Athletics
Arch Award: It’s Really Just About Access To Care
October 23, 2022 | General, Gymnastics, The Frierson Files
View the Full Arch Award Page
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Dr. Leah Brown left the University of Georgia in 1998, after earning a degree in Genetics, the two-time NCAA gymnastics champion and 14-time All-American knew she wanted to get into medicine and become an orthopedic surgeon. Beyond that, the path that her life has followed over the past 20-plus years is the result of passion mixing with opportunity.
"I'm that Type A personality that decided as a young child that this is what I wanted to do," said Brown, who competed for the Gymdogs from 1994-97.
"The path that I took definitely was not necessarily well laid out."
It may not have been laid out, but it has led her on a remarkable journey, one that has resulted in medical school, a military career and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, for which she earned numerous awards including a Bronze Star, working pro teams like the Carolina Panthers and Phoenix Mercury, and the launching of her business in the Phoenix area, Urgently Ortho, a walk-in orthopedic clinic.
Brown is one of three 2022 recipients of the Arch Award, presented by the UGA Athletic Association and Piedmont Bank, joining former equestrian rider Katie Jacobs and former wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. The Arch Award highlights the successes of former Bulldogs in the business world.
"It's always to be recognized by the university that I hold so dear to heart," she said. "Being an entrepreneur is tough, and there are a lot of ups and a lot of downs, and any time you can be recognized for the successes, even the hard ones, it's always a good thing."
For Brown, she experienced great success in gymnastics before going on to do well in medicine, service to her country and in business. Competing for legendary coach Suzanne Yoculan Leebern, Brown won her first NCAA title as a junior in 1996, on the vault. The following year, she closed out her great career with an NCAA title in the floor exercise. In 2016, Brown was inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor, the highest honor a former Bulldog can receive.
Brown said no one moment from her career stands out more than the rest.
"I think it's just the collection of all of them, and being a part of such a great team, under a great coach, at a great university," she said. "My Gymdog teammates are still some of my closest friends, I'm still very engaged with the program, and we still are a part of each other's lives.
"I think that that's such a special relationship that you have when you're a Gymdog, and it surpasses just the people that you competed with. It's essentially a sorority, it's a sisterhood, and that's inside the family atmosphere that you get at the University of Georgia."
Brown has maintained close ties to the university, as well, and currently serves on the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees.
"It's a truly unique place. I've been all over the country, I've lived in all parts of the country, and there is just nothing quite like the camaraderie that we have in relating to each other as Georgia Bulldogs."
Brown first got interested in medicine at a young age, an interest that was reinforced while dealing with injuries. Having her first injury as an athlete, she said, "and engaging with that physician that helped get me back to my competitive level, that definitely affected me and what I wanted to do."
There was also an ophthalmologist that made an impression, one that features in what Brown is doing today — "a game-changer," she said.
"I'll always remember, on the weekend I was having an eye issue, he came in on the weekend and saw me in his office," she said. "I remember thinking, I want to do this."
Brown joined the U.S. Navy in 1999 and attended medical school at Ohio State. She did her internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego before serving as a battalion surgeon at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
In 2006, she went overseas and served as a Medical Aid Station Director during Operation Iraqi Freedom. That was followed by a residency back at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. In 2012, she was deployed to Afghanistan to serve as the Orthopedic Surgery Department head during Operation Enduring Freedom. Since 2013, Brown has served as an orthopedic surgeon with the U.S. Navy Reserves, along with running her own practice.
She started Urgently Ortho because people with injuries shouldn't have to wait weeks or months to get treatment.
"They need access to care. You can't wait months, and it's unfortunate that our healthcare system has that as a problem for so many of our patients," she said. "It's really just about access to care, whether that's during the day or after hours.
"In addition to it, it's access to specialty care. Emergency departments and urgent care are inundated with sick people, and I don't deal with sick people, I deal with injured people. And they are best served, definitively, by people who take care of injured people."
People like Brown, for whom helping others is a lifelong passion and a dream come true.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Dr. Leah Brown left the University of Georgia in 1998, after earning a degree in Genetics, the two-time NCAA gymnastics champion and 14-time All-American knew she wanted to get into medicine and become an orthopedic surgeon. Beyond that, the path that her life has followed over the past 20-plus years is the result of passion mixing with opportunity.
"I'm that Type A personality that decided as a young child that this is what I wanted to do," said Brown, who competed for the Gymdogs from 1994-97.
"The path that I took definitely was not necessarily well laid out."
It may not have been laid out, but it has led her on a remarkable journey, one that has resulted in medical school, a military career and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, for which she earned numerous awards including a Bronze Star, working pro teams like the Carolina Panthers and Phoenix Mercury, and the launching of her business in the Phoenix area, Urgently Ortho, a walk-in orthopedic clinic.
Brown is one of three 2022 recipients of the Arch Award, presented by the UGA Athletic Association and Piedmont Bank, joining former equestrian rider Katie Jacobs and former wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. The Arch Award highlights the successes of former Bulldogs in the business world.
"It's always to be recognized by the university that I hold so dear to heart," she said. "Being an entrepreneur is tough, and there are a lot of ups and a lot of downs, and any time you can be recognized for the successes, even the hard ones, it's always a good thing."
For Brown, she experienced great success in gymnastics before going on to do well in medicine, service to her country and in business. Competing for legendary coach Suzanne Yoculan Leebern, Brown won her first NCAA title as a junior in 1996, on the vault. The following year, she closed out her great career with an NCAA title in the floor exercise. In 2016, Brown was inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor, the highest honor a former Bulldog can receive.
Brown said no one moment from her career stands out more than the rest.
"I think it's just the collection of all of them, and being a part of such a great team, under a great coach, at a great university," she said. "My Gymdog teammates are still some of my closest friends, I'm still very engaged with the program, and we still are a part of each other's lives.
"I think that that's such a special relationship that you have when you're a Gymdog, and it surpasses just the people that you competed with. It's essentially a sorority, it's a sisterhood, and that's inside the family atmosphere that you get at the University of Georgia."
Brown has maintained close ties to the university, as well, and currently serves on the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees.
"It's a truly unique place. I've been all over the country, I've lived in all parts of the country, and there is just nothing quite like the camaraderie that we have in relating to each other as Georgia Bulldogs."
Brown first got interested in medicine at a young age, an interest that was reinforced while dealing with injuries. Having her first injury as an athlete, she said, "and engaging with that physician that helped get me back to my competitive level, that definitely affected me and what I wanted to do."
There was also an ophthalmologist that made an impression, one that features in what Brown is doing today — "a game-changer," she said.
"I'll always remember, on the weekend I was having an eye issue, he came in on the weekend and saw me in his office," she said. "I remember thinking, I want to do this."
Brown joined the U.S. Navy in 1999 and attended medical school at Ohio State. She did her internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego before serving as a battalion surgeon at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
In 2006, she went overseas and served as a Medical Aid Station Director during Operation Iraqi Freedom. That was followed by a residency back at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. In 2012, she was deployed to Afghanistan to serve as the Orthopedic Surgery Department head during Operation Enduring Freedom. Since 2013, Brown has served as an orthopedic surgeon with the U.S. Navy Reserves, along with running her own practice.
She started Urgently Ortho because people with injuries shouldn't have to wait weeks or months to get treatment.
"They need access to care. You can't wait months, and it's unfortunate that our healthcare system has that as a problem for so many of our patients," she said. "It's really just about access to care, whether that's during the day or after hours.
"In addition to it, it's access to specialty care. Emergency departments and urgent care are inundated with sick people, and I don't deal with sick people, I deal with injured people. And they are best served, definitively, by people who take care of injured people."
People like Brown, for whom helping others is a lifelong passion and a dream come true.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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