Austin FC and St. David’s Healthcare Announce Dr. Timothy Vachris, M.D., as First Team Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Douglas Elenz, M.D., as First Team Chief Orthopedic Doctor

Dr. Vachris and Dr. Elenz will work in coordination with St. David’s HealthCare to provide player care; St. David’s HealthCare is Austin FC’s Official Healthcare Partner, Training Partner, and St. David’s Performance Center Naming Rights Partner

Austin, Texas (February 26, 2021) - Austin FC, the 27th club in Major League Soccer (MLS), and St. David’s HealthCare announced today the appointment of Dr. Timothy Vachris, M.D., as first team Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Douglas Elenz, M.D., as first team Chief Orthopedic Doctor. Dr. Vachris and Dr. Elenz will work in close coordination with St. David’s HealthCare — a Club Founding Partner, Official Healthcare Partner, Training Partner, and St. David’s Performance Center Naming Rights Partner. 

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with St. David’s HealthCare with the additions of Dr. Vachris and Dr. Elenz to our Soccer Operations team,” commented Claudio Reyna, Austin FC Sporting Director. “Our players are privileged to receive exceptional medical care from the St. David’s HealthCare team, which plays an integral role in our preparations and ongoing work for our first official MLS preseason.”  

In practice for over 15 years, Dr. Vachris has served as Family and Sports Medicine Physician at Texas Sports & Family Medicine since 2009, Team Physician for McCallum High School since 2010, and Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Family Medicine for The University of Texas Medical Branch between 2009-14. He also served as Team Physician for the University of Texas Athletics Program (2009-14). 

Dr. Vachris graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a B.A. in Biology and Spanish in 2000 and earned his medical degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 2005. The Texan-native completed his residency in Family Medicine at Memorial Southwest Family Medicine Residency in Sugarland, TX. While in residency, Dr. Vachris developed an interest in Sports Medicine, and supported the care of the athletes at the University of St. Thomas. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Vachris provided sports medicine coverage as team physician for California’s Claremont McKenna College, Cal State University, San Bernardino, and Los Osos high school.

Dr. Elenz has been practicing orthopedics in Austin for 25 years and helped established his current practice, Austin Sports Medicine, in 1999. Dr. Elenz also currently serves as the Team Orthopedic Surgeon for the  Athletics Department at the University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since 2009. He is a board-certified orthopedic and sports medicine fellowship trained surgeon, whose experience includes prior roles with the Chicago Cubs (MLB) between 1994-95 and the Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) in 1995, as well as professional All-Stars, Olympic medalists, and World Champions.  

Dr. Elenz earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985, where he was a two-time captain and seven-time NCAA All-American for the Longhorn Swim Team. Dr. Elenz completed a Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery Fellowship at Orthopedic Research of Virginia/Tuckahoe Orthopedic Associates in Richmond, Virginia in 1996 and earned his medical degree from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. Dr. Elenz completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the McGraw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.


About Austin FC  
Austin FC joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as the 27th club in January 2019. Austin FC will officially begin play in 2021 in the new, 100% privately financed, $260 million, state-of-the-art Q2 Stadium in Austin.

Austin FC operates Austin FC Academy, the fully funded developmental academy representing the highest level of competition for elite youth soccer players in Central Texas, while serving as the exclusive developmental pathway to MLS for the region’s most talented young players.

About St. David’s Healthcare
St. David’s HealthCare includes seven of the area’s leading hospitals and is one of the largest health systems in Texas. The organization has been recognized with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence. St. David’s HealthCare is the fourth-largest private employer in the Austin area, with more than 10,600 colleagues across 132 sites of care.

St. David’s HealthCare is a unique partnership between hospital management company HCA Healthcare and two local non-profits—St. David’s Foundation and Georgetown Health Foundation. The proceeds from the operations of the hospitals fund the foundations, which, in turn, invest those dollars back into the community. Since the inception of St. David’s HealthCare in 1996, nearly $700 million has been given back to the community to improve the health and healthcare of Central Texans.

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