Patients recovering from hip fractures and anterior cruciate ligament tears will soon have a center dedicated solely to recovering from orthopaedic injuries. Washington University and Barnes Jewish Hospital are working together to establish a $13 million orthopaedic center to better serve outpatients.

“We’ve outrun our space, and it was our vision to develop one of the leading orthopaedic departments both nationally and internationally,” said Dr. Richard Gelberman.

Dr. Richard Gelberman is the head of the department of orthopaedic surgery, chief of orthopaedic surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Fred C. Reynolds professor.

The new facility will have outpatient care, MRIs, all kinds of therapy services, four operating rooms and 32 exam rooms, said Gelberman.

The outpatient center will offer many services to patients and offer a plethora of opportunities for those studying to become doctors.

“This will be a facility in which we can train fellows and residents, as well as students, in a modern outpatient facility,” said Gelberman.

The new 60,000 square foot facility has been under discussion for the past three years but the decision to actually build it only took place nine months ago.

Barnes Jewish already has one of the largest academic departments in the area, according to Gelberman, with 31 clinical faculty members and eight post doctorates. The new center will require an increase in faculty and will offer “one-stop shopping” for patients.

The University and Barnes Jewish Hospital are working in a partnership, but if University administration had not agreed to the new center, “I think we would have sought other ways to achieve our goal,” said Gelberman.

A strong advocate of the outpatient orthopaedic center, he said that other similar facilities are “highly effective in delivering efficient care. Doctors like working in them, and patients like coming to them.”

Emory, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and the University of Minnesota have also built similar outpatient centers, but not quite to the same extent as the one here in St. Louis.

“Our goal is to minimize patient morbidity,” Gelberman said, emphasizing that Barnes Jewish Hospital is offering the latest technological developments to its patients and constantly pushing for advancements.

“We will use the best facility for the patient given the problem for which they present,” said Gelberman. Other benefits at a center like this include lower cost and higher efficiency. The facility also offers audiovisual links to interactive conferences and curriculum lectures.

The term ‘outpatient’ refers to procedures that do not require a patient to stay at the hospital overnight. These include foot, hand or shoulder surgery and physical medicine.

However, the more intensive procedures such as spinal fusion or treatment of a skeletal muscle tumor will still be done at Barnes Jewish Hospital.

The new orthopaedic center will be centered along South Outer Forty Drive. The new facility is highly visible and easily accessible off the highway, and completion of this project is expected to take place in 2007.

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