Volunteers and clinicians gather for a group photo before the start of the UCSF PlaySafe cardiac screening event at the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco on May 2, 2026. More than 150 surgeons, sports medicine specialists, cardiology teams, trainees, interpreters, and community partners participated in the daylong effort to screen 388 student-athletes from across the Bay Area. (Courtesy photo)
At the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute, 388 student-athletes moved through cardiac sports physicals guided by surgeons, sports medicine specialists, cardiologists, and other volunteers in a 24-year Bay Area tradition centered on injury prevention and cardiac safety.
SAN FRANCISCO — May 7, 2026 — On Saturday morning, the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute did not resemble itself.
What is usually a place of measured clinical activity was transformed into a coordinated hub for a single day of screening. Hallways filled not with patients seeking treatment, but with student-athletes moving in steady sequence from check-in to vitals, physical examination, and cardiac screening and evaluation. The focus of the day was not injury or recovery, but prevention.
At UCSF on May 2, the PlaySafe cardiac screening program evaluated 388 student-athletes from 18 high schools across the Bay Area. The numbers were precise, but the experience unfolded in movement and brief exchanges, where medicine is defined as much by attention as by intervention.
Cardiology team members prepare for the UCSF PlaySafe cardiac screening event at the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco on May 2, 2026. From left: Dr. Karyn Austin, Dr. Satoshi Yoshimura, Dr. Zian H. Tseng, and Dr. Clifton Watt, who helped lead cardiac evaluation and interpretation during the daylong screening of 388 student-athletes. (Courtesy photo)
The program has operated in its current cardiac and sports physical screening model since 2009 and has evaluated more than 7,000 young athletes. It has become less an event than an institution.
“We thank everyone who helped make the day possible,” said Dr. Celina de Borja, a pediatric sports medicine specialist, medical director of the PlaySafe program. “It takes teamwork and coordination to care for each athlete from start to finish, including providing interpreters in several languages. For some of our volunteers, it’s also a unique opportunity to step into what a full day in medicine truly feels like.”
Stacked T-shirts bearing the names of UCSF volunteers are displayed ahead of the UCSF PlaySafe cardiac screening event at the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco on May 2, 2026. The shirts represent residents, fellows, faculty, and trainees who helped staff and coordinate the daylong effort. (Courtesy photo)
The effort is powered by a broad academic and clinical team. More than 150 volunteers—including orthopaedic surgeons, cardiologists, sports medicine specialists, fellows, residents, medical students, nurses, and technicians—worked alongside athletic trainers and cardiology teams to move athletes through each stage of evaluation. The program’s execution was led in large part by a core group of athletic trainers who coordinated logistics and athlete flow throughout the day, ensuring the screening moved seamlessly from start to finish. Those efforts were led by Alyssa Boldt, MS, ATC; Morgan Gilfillan, MS, ATC, CES; Elise Hammond, ATC; and Hally Solarczyk, MA, ATC.
UCSF cardiology provides the heart screening’s clinical backbone, staffed by electrophysiologists, imaging cardiology specialists, clinicians, nurses, echocardiography and EKG tecnnicians including Dr. Zian H. Tseng, Dr. Clifton Watt, Dr. Karyn Austin, Dr. Sung Choi, Dr. Rima Arnaout, Dr. Satoshi Yoshimura, Dr. Cynthia Smith, Dr. Albert Liu and Dr. Russell Ching. EKG and echocardiography systems, supported by Philips Healthcare, translated electrical and imaging data into clinical interpretation throughout the day.
Orthopaedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists Dr. Nick Colyvas, Dr. Brian Feeley, and Dr. Michael Davies volunteer during the UCSF PlaySafe cardiac screening event at the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco on May 2, 2026. (Courtesy photo)
“What a day—388 patients,” said Michael Mayes, manager of the UCSF PlaySafe and athletic training program. “Our role is to create a safe environment for participation in sport. We work year-round to expand access to high-quality care and support athlete development. Even one athlete needing further evaluation reinforces why this matters.”
Additional support came from interpreters with the UC Berkeley Volunteer Health Interpreters Organization, who ensured communication across languages and families. The National Football Federation provided financial support, and Philips supplied equipment used throughout the screenings.
Dr. C. Benjamin Ma, chair of the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, said, “The group cares deeply for the community it serves.”
Athletic trainer Hannah Oyedeji, ATC, (left), and Amy Yoerg, ATC, of UCSF Sports Medicine greet student-athletes outside the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco on May 2, 2026, during the UCSF PlaySafe cardiac screening event. Athletic trainers play a year-round role in supporting student-athlete health, safety, and injury prevention across school and community sports programs. (Courtesy photo)
By late afternoon, the institute began to return to its usual function. Screening stations were dismantled, rooms reset, and equipment packed away. What remained was not spectacle, but the imprint of coordinated effort briefly made visible before dispersing back into clinics, schools, and fields across the Bay Area.
The day was defined not by urgency, but by continuity—the steady work of prevention.
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