Heinrich Böckelühr learns about the specialist clinic /
North Rhine-Westphalia's Olympic bid also a topic of discussion
The Sportklinik Hellersen received a visit from Arnsberg: Heinrich Böckelühr, District President of the Arnsberg District Government, visited the clinic to learn more about it, its development, and its involvement in sports. He was accompanied by department head Dr. Andreas Hohlfeld, who is responsible for health and social services, among other areas, in the district government.
In conversation with Dirk Burghaus, CEO of the Sportklinik Hellersen, and Stefan Klett, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Sports Federation and the sponsor of the specialist clinic, Sporthilfe NRW e.V., the focus was on the history of the Sportklinik Hellersen, its orientation as a highly specialized clinic, and important developments in recent months. One important point was the internationalization strategy. With the Hellersen Hospital, the specialist clinic has been building international bridges since 2023 and making its medical expertise available worldwide. In addition, the field of endoprosthetics has been specifically strengthened, and with the new robotics center, which was opened at the end of last year by NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, a significant milestone has been reached, opening up state-of-the-art surgical possibilities in Lüdenscheid. The Sportklinik Hellersen has also developed in other areas in recent years: for example, the German Spine and Scoliosis Center was established and continuously expanded.
During the visit, the planned Olympic bid by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia was also discussed – a topic that met with great interest among all those involved. As a long-standing partner of organized sports, the Sportklinik Hellersen already makes an important contribution to sports medicine care and support for athletes. “The Sportklinik Hellersen stands for highly specialized care and great commitment to competitive sports. Facilities like this strengthen North Rhine-Westphalia as a sports state – and we need exactly these kinds of structures if we want to position ourselves internationally with an Olympic bid,” emphasizes Stefan Klett.
The Sportklinik Hellersen involvement in top-level sport also attracted considerable attention from the district president – in particular the role of individual doctors as team physicians. Most recently, for example, Dr. Tobias Schmenn accompanied the German women's national team as team physician at the Women's European Championship in Switzerland.
District President Heinrich Böckelühr, who has held the office since September 2022, was impressed by the range of services offered by the specialist clinic in Lüdenscheid: “The Sportklinik Hellersen stands for medical expertise, innovative development, and close ties to sports—a powerful combination that extends far beyond the region.”
“We were delighted to welcome Mr. Böckelühr and Dr. Hohlfeld to our premises. We greatly appreciate their interest in our work and our contribution to medical care and sport,” said Dirk Burghaus after the meeting.
Press contact
Sarah Burghaus
Head of Marketing, PR & Customer Service, Press Spokesperson
sarah.burghaus@hellersen.de
Marketing & PR
marketing@hellersen.de
