Olympic Champion Gymnast Mary Lou Retton will visit Biomet Sept. 16 to help the company celebrate its Orthopaedic Skills Academy grand opening.
The public is invited to attend a community open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at Biomet, 56 E. Bell Drive, Warsaw. The community will have the opportunity to get Retton's autograph and have their photos taken with her.Retton will speak from 3:10-3:30 p.m. about how her hip replacement changed her life.
Retton, 40, will tour the Biomet facility where her hip replacement was made and tour the facility.
While in her early 30s, Retton's life changed when she began experiencing discomfort in her left hip. What began as a dull ache soon developed into chronic pain that made routine movements excruciating.
She suffered for five years, taking medications and undergoing procedures to try to alleviate her pain. Retton has been pain-free for three years after receiving a hip replacement from Biomet.
Retton is Biomet's spokesperson and received a Biomet M2a-Magnum® metal-on-metal hip replacement hip in June 2005 at age 37. She won a gold-medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.
Jeff Binder, Biomet CEO, will speak from 6:30-6:40 p.m. and Dane Miller, Biomet founder and board of directors member, will speak from 6:40 to 6:50 p.m.
A grand-opening ceremony for the Biomet Orthopaedic Skills Academy will be at 7 p.m.
Stacey Jones, director of Biomet consumer marketing, said Biomet is looking forward to Retton's visit.
"We're thrilled to have Mary Lou involved with the opening of the Orthopaedic Skills Academy," Jones said. "Mary Lou is looking forward to her trip to Warsaw and meeting team members and the community."
It will be Retton's first time for visiting Warsaw, Jones said.
The Orthopaedic Skills Academy has been built on the east side of Biomet's main building. It is an educational program specifically designed for healthcare professionals. Its goal is to unite members of the orthopedic community to improve their knowledge, enhance their understanding of innovative surgical techniques and present the latest in biomedical research and development.
The facility will be more than 27,000 square feet and has potential for job creation, according to Jason Vida, Boyden & Youngblutt Public Relations.
It will provide continuing education programs for orthopedic surgeons, fellows, residents, nurses, and Biomet distributors, sales representatives, corporate personnel and orthopedic societies.
