National Blended Health Organization and Fast-Rising Sports Nutrition Company Partner to provide Community Nutrition to Western Pennsylvania Athletes
Pittsburgh, PA., December 14, 2021
Ready® Nutrition (@ready_nutrition), one of the fastest-growing sports nutrition companies in North America, today announced a joint venture partnership with Highmark Health to collectively enhance the health and nutrition of athletes living in communities served by Highmark Health’s provider system, Allegheny Health Network (AHN). The partnership will support a unique, community-based, generational nutritional platform for athletes of all ages and levels cared for by AHN’s Sports Medicine program.
AHN’s Sports Medicine program will be the first to participate in Ready® Nutrition’s multi-tiered platform. AHN serves as the official medical provider of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, and nearly 30 Western Pennsylvania area high school athletic programs. Highmark Health and Ready® Nutrition will share in the cost of the partnership with Ready® Nutrition managing the nutrition education, programming, and product distribution for the recipients.
The platform will deploy educational resources and sports nutrition products in a variety of formats including:
- A proprietary Mobile Training Table™ sports nutrition educational program that provides performance guidance, product sampling and meal prep plans.
- Sports nutrition consultation by registered dietitians and sports nutritionists.
- Fueling station equipment and products for high school and college athletic programs.
- A web-based digital platform, mobile app, and website with sports nutrition resources.
- A future phase expanding the programming into the community individually tailored to multi-generational groups.
“We are on a mission to help athletes and people in the community achieve their goals,” said Ready® founder and CEO, Pat Cavanaugh. “We are taking a unique approach by first helping athletes improve their performance, and then taking a similar performance strategy to support the people in the community as they work toward their health and fitness goals.”
“Many young athletes and their parents underestimate the importance of nutrition on performance,” added Ready’s® Chief Science Officer, Dr. Kim Beals. “We use leading sports nutrition science to guide our product development to assure our products are best in class, giving athletes every edge.”
In addition, Ready® will make available its exclusive Goal and Mentality Training program as well as its social and racial equality initiative (Humanity. Equality. Acceptance. Respect. Together.) to AHN’s sports medicine teams and individual student-athletes.
“Nutrition is a vital component to the success of the athletes within our sports medicine program at AHN,” shared Patrick DeMeo, MD, Chair, AHN Orthopaedic Institute and medical director of the Pittsburgh Pirates. “This partnership goes hand-in-hand with the care, training, and preventive health services we provide to our patients and it will further enhance the overall quality and scope of what we can do to help athletes accomplish their goals and reach their truest potential.”
The partnership will kick off with AHN sports medicine select high school and college athletic programs receiving fueling station equipment and sports nutrition products in early 2022.
About Ready®
Ready® was founded in 2012 by former University of Pittsburgh basketball team captain and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Hall of Fame member, Pat Cavanaugh. It is a fast-growing sports nutrition company that specializes in supporting athletes achieving their goals with all-natural sports nutrition products. The company’s products include their best in-class sports drinks, protein water, protein and snack bars, plant based functional snacks and protein powders. Its products are currently available in over 8,000 retail outlets across North America and recently expanded into Europe and Latin American markets. Three-time, pro football Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald, and 2021 NBA Finals Champion and MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo are co-owners in the company. Over 200 college and university athletic programs provide their student-athletes with Ready® products. Ready® has been named the Official Protein of UCLA athletics. It has also been chosen as the Official Sports Drink of Gonzaga University Athletics and its nationally recognized men’s basketball program along with eight Division I Conferences encompassing 52,000 student-athletes. Ready® is also the official Sports Drink of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the largest athletic organization in the United States with over 700,000 athletes that compete in 41 sports. To learn more, visit www.teamready.com.
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA-based enterprise that employs more than 37,000 people who serve millions of Americans across the country, is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to more than 6 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York as well as dental insurance, and related health products through a national network of diversified businesses. Allegheny Health Network is an integrated delivery network comprised of 14 hospitals, more than 2,500 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions is focused on meeting the information technology platform and other business needs like taking care of the ledger balance of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge, and integrated cloud-based platforms. Lumevity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Highmark Health, helps companies transform in ways that drive direct financial benefits while improving quality and increasing employee engagement. To learn more, visit www.highmarkhealth.org.
About Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org) is an integrated health care delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The network is composed of 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization, home- and community-based health services, a research institute, and a group purchasing organization. AHN provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes and more. AHN employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,500 physicians on its medical staff, and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Highmark Health/AHN Contact:
Emily Beatty
Public Relations Analyst
Emily.Beatty@highmarkhealth.org
513-678-9620
Ready Contact:
Sotiris Aggelou
VP-Global Brand Partnerships
Sotiris@teamready.com
412-939-3399