Former NFL team doctor joins SWFL medical giant in leadership role

Lee Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in Florida, named prominent hand and wrist surgeon Dr. Thomas Hunt to a leadership position. 

The onetime team physician for the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals, Hunt was named vice president and chief physician executive of musculoskeletal medicine at Lee Health. Musculoskeletal medicine is medical specialty that includes injuries and diseases affecting the muscles, bones and joints of the limbs and spine, a press release states. 

Hunt's experience in the specialty is varied, the release states, including: 

• Publishing articles, book chapters, textbooks in the field 
• Delivering lectures and symposia
• Designing unique surgical implants used today for wrist fracture fixation as well as protocols permitting precise, remote and perioperative care
• Has held academic leadership positions. including endowed professor and chair of orthopedic surgery at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the Baylor College of Medicine. His most recent clinical leadership positions include chief of the musculoskeletal service line at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston and chief physician executive for CommonSpirit Health’s Texas Division orthopedic service line. 
• Was team physician for the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals, and remains senior advisor to the NFL’s Musculoskeletal Committee. He's also the official second opinion physician for the NBA, and medical advisor for the Titleist Performance Institute.

In his new role, Hunt will help create and implement the vision, strategic direction and operations of all orthopedic services, say Lee Health officials. "He will position Lee Health as both a regional and national destination for excellence in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders," the release states. 

“Dr. Hunt will elevate Lee Health’s commitment to wellness and value-based patient care in the area of orthopedics and associated disciplines. He has a proven track record of providing high-quality patient care along with growing and expanding orthopedic care. We know he will be a huge asset to Southwest Florida,” Lee Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser says in the release.

Hunt began his role with Lee Health on June 30.