Ella and Joel’s Story: Premier Health Orthopedics Helps Father, Daughter Resume Active Lives

Ella went from being in the wrong place at the wrong time to being in the right place at the right time quickly after she sustained injuries in a fall 2020 traffic collision.

Ella, who was 14, suffered a broken clavicle in a collision involving a vehicle she was riding in with three other girls on their way to a junior high football game. The vehicle, driven by Ella’s father, Joel, was hit by another vehicle in an intersection. Ella was taken by ambulance for treatment.

The injury was a concern for Ella, a busy student athlete at Valley View High School in Germantown. Now a freshman, she has participated in track, volleyball, and basketball.

“Right after the X-rays were taken, I called Premier Health, whom I had surgery with on my shattered clavicle following a snowboarding accident. I told them of our situation with the accident and they scheduled Ella an appointment the very next morning,” Joel said.

Michael Griesser, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Premier Health in Middletown, had previously operated on Joel’s clavicle in February 2018.

Dr. Griesser performed Ella’s surgery at Atrium Medical Center a couple of days following the collision.

Ella’s recovery lasted six weeks. Today she once again is active in sports.

“The surgery helped out a lot with the pain. Dr Griesser and his staff did an amazing job and were very nice throughout my treatment,” Ella said.

When not on the sports field or in the classroom, she enjoys cosmetology, doing hair and makeup for some high school girls attending prom.

Joel, a teacher at Valley View schools, said he and his wife were concerned that Ella’s injury could sideline her pursuit of athletics.

“Luckily for Ella, she healed fast,” he said.

“I cannot thank Premier Health enough for the care and services they provided me and my family. The doctors, nurses, secretaries, and all other staff members were great throughout my experience with both mine and my daughter’s surgeries,” Joel Phillips said. “I highly recommend Premier Health, and although I hope I don’t ever have to see them again, it would be the first phone call I made.”