Popular Physical Therapy Methods
Whether it’s a short-lived pain from a sporting injury or long-term pain from conditions like arthritis, pain can be difficult to live with and manage. From helping arthritic pain and bursitis, to the recovery from broken and fractured bones, and sprains and strains, physical therapists are highly educated healthcare experts in the movement and function of the human body, called kinesiology.
Physical therapists have a special aptitude for assessing the human body and helping restore it back to optimal performance after injury or surgery. Many people experience pain at some point in their lives, whether it is acute or chronic. Physical therapy has been known to improve function for patients experiencing hip, knee, shoulder, and lower back pain. It may also be an effective method in reducing pain for patients with conditions such as tendonitis.
Armed with cutting edge equipment and a huge background of knowledge, PTs can help diagnose and treat many common conditions and disorders affecting movement and function, which often disrupts and affects someone’s ability to live their life normally. Often, doctors turn to physical therapy methods to try and relieve pain and restore function, before turning to surgery as a last resort.
Therefore, armed with cutting edge equipment and a huge background of knowledge, physical therapists can help diagnose and effectively treat many common problems, and most importantly improve or restore mobility, relieve pain, and reduce the need for surgery and prescription drugs.
Physical therapy is an essential part of total patient care, especially when recovering from injury or surgery. Having a good quality of life depends on our health, and if people are in constant pain and suffering, life can be difficult to navigate. That’s why physical therapists can make all the different in your treatment and recovery process. Attitude and motivation are two important psychological factors that often affect the outcome of a situation. PT’s are trained to encourage their patients, helping them reach their goals, whether they are long-term or short-term.
Physical therapist’s work with their patients on a one-on-one basis, track their progress through treatment, and really make a difference in their lives, by getting them back on their feet, and lifting their spirits, encouraging the patient to keep moving forward. Whether the patient’s problem is a result of injury or disease, the physical therapist is a rehabilitation specialist with one goal in mind: helping patient’s recover by restoring optimal function and mobility, and preventing further disability.
Your PT will complete a full evaluation before making an accurate diagnosis.
Therapeutic exercise and functional training are the cornerstones of a physical therapy treatment plan. Depending on the particular needs of a patient, in order to promote proper movement and function, physical therapists will work with individuals to prevent loss of mobility by developing fitness and wellness oriented programs, for healthier and more active lifestyles.
Popular physical therapy methods include:
- Ice and heat therapy: Ice is best for swelling and inflammation, while heat is best for muscle spasms and tightness
- Manual Therapy: Manual therapy includes dry needling, cupping therapeutic taping, and other techniques such as soft tissue mobilization and IASTM. These techniques can be helpful in restoring tissue mobility, improving muscle and joint function, decreasing inflammation, improving stability, and facilitating weak muscles.
- Exercises: Exercise is a main go-to strategy to treat and prevent pain. These aren’t just exercises like you do at the gym, PT exercises are specially chosen and specifically tailored to help treat the patient’s specific problem. These exercise techniques are hand-picked to help patients move better by strengthening certain muscles, and addressing any imbalances that may exist.
To learn more about the popular physical therapy methods, call us in East Tucson at (520) 784-6570, Northwest Tucson at (520) 382-8201, or Oro Valley at (520)382-8180, or request an appointment online.
Physical Therapy Before and After Surgery
No athlete wants to think about what it’s like having a serious injury, let alone the potential surgery and recovery period that follows. Unfortunately, sometimes accidents and injuries are out of our control, and depending on the circumstances, they may require surgical intervention. You will most likely have many questions regarding how your injury should be treated before and after surgery. Depending on what surgery is going to be performed, physical therapy is suggested, and is actually beneficial both pre-operatively and post-operatively.
As experts in the way the body moves, physical therapists help people of all ages and abilities reduce pain, improve or restore mobility, and stay active and fit throughout life. The main goal of physical therapy is to restore your function and mobility, and eliminate or minimize your pain so you can get back to your active lifestyle. Physical therapy is actually a required part of the recovery process for many orthopedic injuries and surgical procedures.
A customized physical therapy program can help individuals return to their prior level of functioning, and encourage activities and lifestyle changes that can help prevent further injury and improve overall health and well-being. Primary care doctors often refer patients for physical therapy at the first sign of a problem, since it is considered a traditional approach to managing problems. For example, the first treatment for low back pain is often physical therapy, because the body has gotten out of shape and structure.
Physical therapists are healthcare professionals who offer cost-effective treatment to improve mobility and relieve pain, reduce the need for surgery and prescription drugs, allowing patients to participate in a recovery plan designed for their specific needs. If you’re already an athlete or physically active, then you will probably be more familiar with some of the treatment plan. If you’re not regularly active, physical therapy can open the door for a more active and energetic lifestyle.
Rehabilitation prior to your surgery is important for many reasons. Physical therapy will help minimize pain, reduce swelling, and especially help with range of motion. Physical therapy after surgery will help educate the patient on how to return to the activities they once did before, but hopefully even stronger. Not doing physical therapy after surgery can cause lack of mobility, increase the buildup of scar tissue, and even have psychological effects. Having done physical therapy beforehand and after will help you immensely after surgery, and help speed up your recovery process.
To learn more about physical therapy and its importance both before and after surgery, call Tucson Orthopaedic Institute at (520) 784-6200 to request an appointment, or you can use our secure online appointment request form.
TMC’s Tucson Orthopaedic Institute Improves Patient Outcomes with Surgical Precision
Source: Inside Tucson Business published on May 26, 2017
Written by Logan Burtch-Buss
Photo Credit to Eric Suhm
When Tucson resident Melissa Anderson underwent her first full knee replacement surgery in 2010, she said the painful rehabilitation process lasted three months. Roughly two months ago, Anderson received her second full knee replacement surgery, and it only took seven weeks before the 65-year-old woman was out dancing and riding a recombant bicycle with her husband, John.
Anderson’s most recent surgery took place at TMC’s Tucson Orthopaedic Institute with the use of Stryker’s Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Total Knee application.
Typically, a knee replacement is done using manual instruments, and cutting-guides have to be placed and positioned according to a surgeon’s visual, said Dr. Russell G. Cohen, who handled Anderson’s second replacement. Traditional replacements are taught in a certain manner and guides are placed in similar fashion for all patients.
But not every knee is the same, Cohen said, and he said one of the pitfalls of knee replacement is the recovery time because the process involves recreating “soft tissue tensioning.” By having a robot with which the patient’s anatomy is registered from a CAT scan, the physician can feel how they want the knee to end up before ever starting the procedure, rather than make the cuts and try to catch up and make everything fit just right.
By fine-tuning every procedure to the physical specifications of each patient down to the millimeter, the recovery process is expedited, and patient satisfaction is improved as a result.
“I was absolutely shocked at the difference with the difference I felt between the first one and the second one,” Anderson said. “There is a really deep knee-bone pain you get with that kind of surgery … and I didn’t have it. I was worried about doing it again because I didn’t want to spend another three months recovering, but I was released from [physical therapy] in four weeks.”
Cohen has completed several dozen Mako Total Knee surgeries, and said a great majority of those patients have left the hospital the following day, all recovering much like Anderson. In addition to the implementation of the Mako, Cohen said credit for recovery improvement must also be given to improvements to anesthesia practices and other hospital procedure.
Though TOI has already been recognized for its excellence in orthopedic practice, constantly improving upon that level of service is of the utmost importance to TMC moving forward, said chief operations officer Karen Mlawsky.
Mlawsky added that with a “superstar” like Cohen in such an important practice such as orthopedics, in which TMC holds the majority market share, it is important to continue to support physicians and surgeons, and implementing robotics does just that.
“TMC believes that it is really important for us to partner with our physicians, and when one comes forward and says that they believe the technology is going to make an impact on our patient’s outcomes, we want to listen,” she said. “We believe that orthopedics is very important to us, we believe that robotics is very important to us, and the other side of that is our role in Tucson. We are the only community hospital and we think it is important to do things that help people stay well. This technology is about getting people well quickly and keeping a person active, that’s our mission.”
According to TMC, total knee replacements in the United States are expected to increase 673 percent by 2030, and Cohen said the success of the Mako in handling full knee (and hip) replacements bodes well for the community’s future.
“There are some things that are very much a physician or surgeon looking at and trying to create whatever they are doing in the right space or angle, and I think with imaging technology and the Mako, it can be a homerun every time instead of most of the time,” he said.
Anderson, who now considers herself an advocate for the robotic knee replacement, said the outcome from her own operation was an absolute success, and said she would work with any potential patient nervous at the prospect of going under the robotic knife.
“It’s just incredible,” she said. “I was so surprised because I was ready to do that three month thing, and not to not have to do that is such a gift. Not to have that deep knee pain, that bone pain, is amazing.”
5 Signs You May Have Hip Arthritis
Written by: Dr. Ali Dalal
Degenerative joint disease is a very common cause of hip pain. Figuring out whether the true source of pain is the hip or the back can be a diagnostic challenge for both the doctor and the patient. Indeed, several patients have both back and hip problems. Here are 5 common signs that the pain you are experiencing is coming from your hip.
1. Do I need a different car?
It’s something we do every day and for some people, several times a day. For patients with hip arthritis, the simple act of swinging their leg to get in and out of a car can cause severe discomfort.
2. “Honey, can you grab my flip-flops?”
Stooping forward to put on shoes and socks becomes extremely difficult and or painful due to loss of mobility. Frequently patients will report that their husband or wife assists them with this activity. In places with warmer climates, patients resort to wearing slip-on shoes.
3. Get between the toes!
Frequently patients with hip arthritis experience pain when bending to wash their feet in the shower.
4. Can’t stop counting sheep?
In advanced cases, patients have sleep disturbances because they cannot position their hip in a comfortable way to fall asleep. Oftentimes patients will only be able to sleep with a pillow underneath the thigh.
5. It can’t be my hip; the pain is in the front.
Contrary to what many people think, the anatomic location of the hip is not the side of the upper thigh. The hip is located in the front in the crease of the groin. Groin pain and limited hip motion are the most reproducible signs of a hip problem.
If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you may be suffering from hip arthritis. The diagnosis can be confirmed with a quick X-ray and treatment is usually non-operative in the early stages. Come see Dr. Dalal at Tucson Orthopaedic Institute so you can stop living with pain and start living your life!
Focus on Continuous Improvement
Source: BizTucson published September 2016
Written by: Mary Minor Davis
Photo Credit: Amy Haskell
After three years of living on the road as a national healthcare consultant, Paula Register is ready to plant her roots on firmer ground in Tucson. The new CEO at Tucson Orthopaedic Institute recently got a dog. She’s planted flowers. She cooks at home more.
The North Carolina native first came to Tucson in 2010, working two years at Carondelet Health Network before her consulting job took her back on the road. Now engaged to local cardiac anesthesiologist Michael Hecht, she said she’s ready to settle down.
“Settle” isn’t a word that would normally describe Register. Look at her resume and it is easy to see why she was included in Becker’s 2011 list of Most Influential Women to Know in Healthcare. She’s held senior leadership and executive positions for most of her career. A licensed CPA, she has worked as a senior accountant and CFO for two North Carolina school districts and participated in several mergers throughout her career. In healthcare her roles include CFO and CEO for multi-specialty physician groups and CEO for a Management Services Organization, doubling its size during her tenure. She came to TOI in April of 2015.
“The opportunity at Tucson Orthopaedic came at a perfect time,” Register said. “For most of my career in healthcare I worked with supervising multi-specialty areas. This was an opportunity to focus my time and talent on one area.”
For the previous three years, Register’s consulting career took her to Oahu frequently. “I had the greatest experience working in Hawaii,” she said. “The spirit of the people, the kindness they demonstrate – it’s a good lesson for those of us who work in healthcare. I really learned the true meaning of ‘Aloha.’ ”
She’s incorporated her experience in Hawaii into the TOI philosophy – adopting “kina’ole” – the Hawaiian word for flawlessness.
“It means doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling the first time,” she said. “It embodies the whole patient experience – making them feel welcome, making them feel comfortable, being respectful of their time and hearing everything they have to say. It’s all important.”
This philosophy is what drives Register, who takes her responsibility to run a $50 million business very seriously.
“My job is to provide a good, strong business structure and clinical infrastructure to support the clinical practices, which allow (the physicians) to do what they do best. I call it the triple lane – we’re here to provide better patient experience, better patient outcomes, at a more efficient cost. It’s what we all want.”
To achieve this, Register established a culture focused on continuous improvement. “We want to make sure we get better every day.”
To this end, Register said she asks a lot of questions – especially “why?” – with respect to processes, procedures and programs that serve as patient touch points. “Why do we do it this way?” And the next questions are “How should we be doing it? Can we do it differently and achieve a better outcome?”
“We’re always going to make mistakes – it’s human nature,” she said. “But it’s how we react to that mistake that I think is important. Patients need to know that when things go wrong, we analyze what happened and what we are going to do differently so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Register said she doesn’t look to adopt change for the mere sake of change, but recognizes that there are some things that don’t need to be handled the way they were in the past because of changes in technology, information systems and other patient interactions.
One of the most noticeable examples of this is the renovated lobby space at the Grant Road location, shared in the central tower with Tucson Medical Center. Previously, check-in for TOI was behind the TMC reception area in a small office. “There were lines out the door,” she said. “When you’re in pain, the last thing you want to see is a waiting line.”
TOI re-engineered the waiting area, moving from the TMC reception area to a more open area at the west end of the tower. In addition, multiple check-in stations were added. “It opened up our availability to patients,” she said. “It’s a much better environment for our staff and our patients.”
Locating services nearer to patients is also part of Register’s strategy. There are currently four TOI clinics in greater Tucson. In the next 18 months, the TOI located on the Oro Valley Hospital campus will complete an expansion, and TOI’s newest satellite office will open next year as part of the new TMC Rincon Health Campus on the southside.
“I have this philosophy that I heard early in my career – people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” she said. “I think if people know we care, that’s what’s important. I try to show people how much I care – the team, our culture, our patients – and I hope our business owners know how much I care about how I run their business.”
Bisphosphonate Femur Fractures: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Written by: Ali Dalal, MD
view post on original source – LinkedIn
7/17/2016- Bisphosphonates (BPs) are a revolutionary class of medicines that can preserve bone health and prevent fractures caused by osteoporosis. They go by the trade names of Boniva™, Fosamax™, and Reclast™ among others. They have been shown to decrease spine fractures by 40-70% and hip fractures by 20-50%. They are truly life changing treatments when one considers that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience an osteoporotic fracture after the age of 50.
Like all medicines, BPs have side effects. One especially fearsome side effect of BP treatment is atypical femur fracture (AFF). AFFs are fractures caused by BPs. They are characterized by aching pain in the thigh or groin with weight bearing. They are easily visible on x-rays in their early stages and are much easier to treat before they become complete fractures. To be clear, AFFs are very rare and bisphosphonates most definitely prevent more fractures than they cause. However, the prolonged course of healing and the unpredictable nature of AFFs have caused great concern among patients and the media. A link between the number of years BPs are taken and the risk of AFF has been established. A task force of leading bone doctors and scientists has provided guidelines in 2016 on how to prevent AFFs based on individual patient risk factors. The guidelines are as follows:
Post-menopausal women treated with oral (pill form) bisphosphonates for 5 continuous years or intravenous (IV) bisphosphonates for 3 continuous years should be re-evaluated. If they have not had an osteoporotic fracture during treatment with the medicine (hip, spine, wrist, shoulder fracture), do not have osteoporosis on a DEXA scan (bone mineral density test) and are not considered to be a “high fracture risk” based on age and other factors, they should consider a temporary stoppage of medicine or a “drug holiday” for 2-3 years. After this time period they should be re-evaluated. The drug holiday allows some of the potential harmful effects of BPs to decrease.
As you can tell, the guidelines are not simple. As a doctor I had to read it a few times before it sank in. Stopping or continuing the medicine requires significant judgment on the part of the doctor prescribing it. These medicines should not be stopped without a consultation with the prescribing doctor. As a patient, the important thing to take away is that if you have been on these medicines for years and are experiencing the symptoms of AFFs, don’t ignore them. AFFs are much easier to treat in the early stages. Secondly, if you have been taking these medicines for years but haven’t seen the prescribing doctor in a while, it might be time to find out where you stand in terms of your risk. With AFFs, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.
- Adler et al. Managing Osteoporosis in Patients on Long-Term Bisphosphonate Treatment: Report of a Task Force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Volume 31, Issue 1, pages 16–35, January 2016
Get Prepared for the Game! Sports Physical Clinic
Tucson Orthopaedic Institute is providing pre-activity physicals for all student athletes.
A team of sports medicine specialists and medical professional will provide a thorough exam and assess each athletes’ ability to participate in sports for the upcoming season.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
8:00am – 12:00pm
Tucson Orthopaedic Institute – Northwest office
6320 N. La Cholla Blvd, #200
Cost is $20 per athlete* (discounted rate is available for families with multiple athletes)
Exam includes:
– Vitals check
– Vision test
– Medical & Musculoskeletal exam
– AIA approved forms completed (athletes must bring form)
*Self-pay only. Cannot be combined with insurance.
Research Study: Knee Cartilage Tissue Implant
Tucson Orthopaedic Institute is looking for candidates with certain knee cartilage injuries to evaluate NeoCart®, an investigational cartilage tissue implant made from a patient’s own cells. This trial is intended to determine if NeoCart® may potentially result in durable, long-lasting repair of certain knee cartilage injuries.
To learn more about the study or find out if you may qualify to participate in this study, please call (520) 357-4620.
25 Physicians from Tucson Ortho Named to 2015-2016 Best Doctors List
Twenty-five physicians affiliated with Tucson Orthopaedic Institute appear on the Best Doctors in America® List for 2015-2016. Only five percent of doctors in America earn this prestigious honor, decided by impartial peer review.
Tucson Orthopaedic physicians to make the list include:
| Eric Anctil, MD | Brian Nielsen, MD |
| Kevin Bowers, MD | Michael Parseghian, MD |
| Russell Cohen, MD | Edward Petrow, Jr., DO |
| Stephen Curtin, MD | William Prickett, MD |
| Joel Goode, MD | William Quinlan, MD |
| Stephen Hanks, MD | Murray Robertson, MD |
| Lawrence Housman, MD | Steven Shapiro, MD |
| Gerard Jeong, MD | Scott Slagis, MD |
| Jay Katz, MD | Todd Tucker, MD |
| Geoffrey Landis, DO | Jesse Wild, MD |
| Andrew Mahoney, MD | John Wild, Jr., MD |
| John Maltry, MD | Steven Zeiller, MD |
Best Doctors has earned a sterling, worldwide reputation for reliable, impartial results by remaining totally independent. Doctors cannot pay to be included in the Best Doctors database, nor are they paid to provide their input. The List is a product of validated peer review, in which doctors who excel in their specialties are selected by their peers in the profession.
In bringing together the best medical minds in the world, Best Doctors works with expert physicians from its Best Doctors in America® List to help its 30 million members worldwide get the right diagnosis and right treatment.
The highly regarded Best Doctors in America® List, assembled by Best Doctors, Inc. and audited and certified by Gallup®, results from exhaustive polling of over 40,000 physicians in the United States. Doctors in over 40 specialties and 400 subspecialties of medicine appear on this year’s List. In a confidential review, current physician listees answer the question, “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer?” Best Doctors, Inc. evaluates the review results, and verifies all additional information to meet detailed inclusion criteria.
About Best Doctors, Inc.:
Best Doctors works with the best five percent of doctors, ranked by impartial peer review, to help people get the right diagnosis and right treatment. Gallup has certified Best Doctors as using the highest industry standards survey methodology and processes in polling physicians to discover the doctors they would choose for their own care. Founded in 1989 by Harvard Medical School physicians, the global health solutions company, which has grown to over 30 million members worldwide, uses state-of-the-art technology capabilities to deliver improved health outcomes while reducing costs. Best Doctors seamlessly integrates its trusted health services with Fortune 1000 employers, insurers and other groups in every major region of the world.
For further information, visit Best Doctors at www.bestdoctors.com.
Lecture Focuses on Hand Pain
As published on Green Valley News
written by: Ellen Sussman
12/07/2015 – Aches, pains and discomfort of the hand and arm may be the result of years of physical labor handling heavy loads that is only now taking its toll years later. Pain may also be due to falls, traumatic injuries or arthritis, said Dr. Mark Braunstein at a Wednesday lecture at Green Valley Recreation’s East Center.
Braunstein, an orthopedist at Tucson Orthopedic Institute told an audience of 28 that elbow, wrist and hand pain are common.
Lateral Epicondylitis, also known as “golfers elbow,” may be treated with surgery, which Braunstein said is successful 50 to 80 percent of the time. Less invasive is a cortisone injection that shows results within two to three days.
Stretching exercises often work well for anyone with “tennis elbow,” and splints and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) offer relief for bursitis. Whenever bones, tendons and ligaments move against each other, especially near joints, the contact points are cushioned by small fluid-filled sacs called bursae. When a bursa becomes irritated or swollen, it’s called bursitis.
“The worst pain is from carpal tunnel syndrome. Tendons swell. Blood flow is affected in the hand,” Braunstein said, adding that tingling and/or numbness is a bad sign.
Carpal tunnel syndrome may be treated with night splints, a change or cessation of activity causing the pain. Aches associated with gripping, numbness and a history of overuse may be treated with a splint, massage or cortisone injection.
De Quervain tenosynovitis, named for a Swiss surgeon, is an inflammation of the sheaths that cover the tendons that move the thumb up and out and may also be successfully treated with cortisone.
Arthritis in finger joints may be the result of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, Braunstein said. A common indication of arthritis in the fingers is swollen knuckles, and cortisone injections often provide pain relief in the knuckles, too.
Contact Green Valley freelance reporter Ellen Sussman at ellen2414@cox.net.
Giving Back: TOI Patient of the Month November 2015
Tucson Ortho is proud to present the November 2015 Patient of the Month award to Betty Edwards!
Betty is an active member of our Tucson community and enjoys giving back to others. She is involved with various local non-profit organizations and is always willing to help someone in need. Betty says she loves people and listening to their stories.
Betty believes “it doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day, a simple smile or a kind hello is sometimes all others need. That’s free and everyone should be able to give that much.”
That spirit was evident to our staff, especially Daniella, outbound receptionist, who nominated Betty for Patient of the Month because “she is very sweet and makes it a point to make us feel special.”
Betty had learned it was Daniella’s birthday and the next time Betty came to the office, Daniella says, “she brought me a beautiful card that made my day!”
Daniella says now it’s her turn to make Betty feel special since she is such “a wonderful lady with a big bright smile.”
Betty was humbled by the nomination, saying “A special thanks to Daniella for choosing me as Patient of the Month. The staff here has been so nice to me, and so ready to help and always with a smile. I never thought I would enjoy coming to the doctor, but even with every pain, I can see the concern of the staff. This means so much to me. They turn sadness into a smile! Thank you all, and God bless. Continue to spread love and joy. It means a lot to the patients and helps us to heal.”
Betty has certainly given us a lot with her bright smiles and caring spirit – we wish her all the best!
After Hours Clinic Expands to Northwest
Not All Injuries Happen During Office Hours
Tucson Ortho Opens After Hours Clinic at Northwest Location
(12/1/2015 – Tucson, AZ) Fractures, sports injuries, sprains, tears and other urgent bone and joint injuries can occur at any time of day. Tucson Orthopaedic Institute’s After Hours Clinic provides immediate treatment to patients – no appointment necessary – for acute orthopaedic injuries after regular office hours.
Starting December 1, 2015, patients can benefit from seeing a specialist at our Northwest location because Tucson Orthopaedic Institute understands the importance of receiving fast specialized care for urgent orthopaedic injuries.
Our specialists treat acute orthopaedic injuries, reducing the wait time for patients to receive care compared to an emergency room or traditional urgent care center. Patients are assured expert care with a trained orthopaedic Physician Assistant on staff, and a supervising Tucson Ortho doctor on-call.
Onsite x-ray and casting services provides all the orthopaedic care patients need in one visit.
The After Hours Clinic will continue to provide specialized treatment for acute orthopaedic injuries at our East office.
HOURS:
Open Monday – Thursday
5:00 – 9:00 PM
LOCATIONS:
Northwest Office (NOW OPEN)
6320 N. La Cholla Blvd. Suite 200
382-8117
East Office
1st floor of TMC’s Orthopaedic and Surgical Tower
5301 E. Grand Rd.
784-6441
A Dedication Celebration!
11/14/2015 – 6 months, 94 volunteer hours clocked and 954 plastic bag donations later the Patient Appreciation Committee (PAC) celebrated Tucson Orthopaedic Institute’s official Park Adoption! We celebrated our adoption with 41 friends at the beautiful Northwest Community Park; all attendees enjoyed a picnic style lunch and got to take part in tree planting ceremony. We were so grateful to have Supervisor Ally Miller and George Kuck, from Pima County Parks and Recreation, join our celebration and acknowledge our commitment to keep Tucson Clean!
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| Supervisor Ally Miller | |
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| PAC Chair, Ellie, accepting the park adoption certificate and t-shirt | Our awesome Patient Appreciation Committee! |
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| Planting our tree! | PAC with Dr. Housman and the Jinx Softball team |
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Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! Looking forward to seeing you next time! If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the park, please contact Ellie at eescobedo@tucsonortho.com |
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Because We Care Foundation Annual Trip – 2015
11/12/2015 – The non-profit group, Because We Care Foundation (BWCF), is currently on its fourth annual trip to Quito, Ecuador to provide total knee replacements to people without financial resources for treatment. The organization was founded and lead by Tucson Orthopaedic Institute providers, Luis Piedrahita, MD and Lori Bryant, PT. Tucson Ortho physicians and staff, along with colleagues from Tucson Medical Center (TMC), donate their time and talent to provide these services to folks that would otherwise go without care.
This year, Luis Piedrahita, M.D., Tucson Ortho physician, Murray Robertson, M.D., BWCF President, and Russell Cohen, M.D., BWCF Board Member, will be traveling from Nov. 6th – Nov. 14th performing knee replacement surgeries to local residents.
Click the link to learn more about Because We Care Foundation and check back in a few weeks to see how the 2015 trip concluded!
Surgeons vs. Chefs 2015
Surgeons from Tucson Orthopaedic Institute joined Tucson Medical Center and Embassy Suites Tucson – Paloma Village for their 6th annual ‘Surgeons vs. Chefs’ Pumpkin Carving Contest to raise money for TMC for Children, Children’s Miracle Network.
Surgeons and chefs from local restaurants carved pumpkins in front of 200 attendees.
The night’s proceeds totaled over $6,800 from raffles and pumpkin auctions!
Attendees also voted for their favorite pumpkins in the following categories: Best Overall Pumpkin, Best Overall Surgeon, Best Overall Chef, Most Creative Pumpkin, Ugliest Pumpkin, and Scariest Pumpkin.
Check out how all the participating physicians carved their pumpkins and see who won each category.
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| A. Mark Braunstein, MD | Baby and the Giant Pumpkin |
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| Stephen L. Curtin, MD *BEST Overall Surgeon |
Scary Pumpkin Shell |
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| Ali H. Dalal, MD | Dia de los Muertos & Howling Wolf |
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| Joel R. Goode, MD *UGLIEST PUMPKIN |
“WiFi is Down’ & Candy Corn Face |
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| Stephen E. Hanks, MD | Frankenstein & Ninja Turtle |
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| Chris G. Stevens, MD *MOST CREATIVE |
Hippie |
The additional winning pumpkins were voted for by attendees. The remaining winners by category are:
Best Overall Chef: Dominic Jones, The Living Room
Scariest: Jan Osipowicz, Hilton El Conquistador
Best Overall Pumpkin: Ken Harvey, Loews Ventana Canyon
U.S. News & World Report Names the TMC Orthopaedic Center Among Best in Knee Replacement
Tucson Medical Center has been recognized as one of the best hospitals for 2015-16 in knee replacement by U.S. News & World Report. The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 26th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients.
“The TMC Orthopaedic Center and our partners at the Tucson Orthopaedic Institute are proud to announce this important recognition of our world-class orthopaedics program,” said Judy Rich, president and chief executive officer, Tucson Medical Center. “We take pride in our busy joint replacement program, which is staffed by a care team that is best in class. This designation validates that expertise.”
The TMC Orthopaedic Center is a word-class facility dedicated to the needs of the orthopaedic patient and designed with the full continuum of care in mind. The four-story Orthopaedic and Surgical Tower includes 10 state-of-the-art orthopaedic operating rooms that can accommodate both inpatient and outpatient surgeries, and a dedicated 40-bed orthopaedic unit with all private rooms.
“Tucson Orthopaedic Institute collaborates with TMC on clinical and quality initiatives. That commitment has resulted in measurably better care and outcomes for our patients; and they are able to experience an improved quality of life from the orthopaedic care received here,” said Lawrence Housman, M.D., president, Tucson Orthopaedic Institute.
For 2015-16, U.S. News evaluated hospitals in 16 adult specialties and ranked the top 50 in most of the specialties. Less than 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals that were analyzed for Best Hospitals 2015-16 were nationally ranked in even one specialty.
“A Best Hospital has demonstrated expertise in treating the most challenging patients,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “A hospital that emerged from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of.”
In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals that perform nearly at the level of their nationally ranked peers in one or more specialties, as well as hospitals that excel in multiple common procedures and conditions.
U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face a particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or extra risk because of age or multiple health problems. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, adequacy of nurse staffing and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.
The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. U.S. News used the same data, as well as the new Best Hospitals for Common Care ratings, first published in May, to produce the state and metro rankings.
The rankings are freely available at https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in the U.S. News “Best Hospitals 2016” guidebook, available in August from the U.S. News Store.
About Tucson Medical Center
Tucson Medical Center, licensed at more than 600 beds, has been Tucson’s nonprofit community hospital for more than 70 years. In addition to serving as a regional resource for emergency and pediatric care (including Tucson’s first Pediatric Emergency Department), TMC offers top-notch intensive care units for adults, children and newborns. Specialty areas include women’s, maternity, cardiac, orthopaedic, neuroscience, neurologic, pediatric and imaging. TMC, designated as a ‘Most Wired’ hospital, employs a top-level electronic medical record system.
About Tucson Orthopaedic Institute
Tucson Orthopaedic Institute is one of the Southwest’s leading orthopaedic medical practices. With three locations and 50 practitioners, Tucson Ortho provides comprehensive surgical and non-surgical treatment, serving both adults and children. The fellowship-trained physicians at Tucson Orthopaedic Institute’s Centers of Excellence are committed to improving patient care through community education and outreach efforts to promote lifestyles that create strong, healthy bones, joints and muscles.