Groundbreaking

Patients with orthopedic or sports-related injuries and conditions rely on UHS as their first choice for treatment. In order to continue this tradition and provide patients with more centralized, organized care, UHS has broken ground on the UHS Comprehensive Orthopedic Center on the Vestal Parkway. The center will complement the UHS Vestal complex next door and will host a number of related UHS programs in one location.

“Research clearly demonstrates a growing need for orthopedic and related services in the Southern Tier, given our aging population and increasing consumer demand,” says Matt Salanger, president and CEO of UHS. “[We] are committed to anticipating the medical needs of our community and responding by creating services that are high-quality, comprehensive and conveniently accessible.”

UHS’ specialized medical programs in orthopedics, podiatry, chiropractic, rheumatology and physical therapy will be located in the new building. Each of those services will relocate from other UHS sites to make the new center their home. The new center will also house greater Binghamton’s largest sports medicine practice, with ample space for post-surgical strength conditioning and a concussion center.

“Right now we’re scattered,” says Lawrence Wiesner, DO, orthopedic surgeon and head of UHS Orthopedics. “We’re all doing what we do, but we’re not under one roof in an ultra-modern setting.”

The UHS Comprehensive Orthopedic Center will include the latest medical technology but the same dedicated doctors, nurses and other UHS staff patients have come to know. The center will be organized into pods that are dedicated to specific specialties: sports medicine, hand and upper extremity, joint replacement, and trauma and general orthopedics. The placement of each pod was designed specifically with patients’ needs in mind.

Having various providers from surgery to rehabilitation in one building will result in enhanced communication and higher-quality, more convenient care for patients. Imaging will also be offered on-site, and a lab and pharmacy are right next door at UHS Vestal. The new center will have spacious parking to accommodate the thousands of predicted outpatient visits each year.

The center is expected to open in late 2016. Dr. Wiesner says the process is running smoothly. “It will be a great high-tech space for doctors to see patients in an organized manner,” he adds.