Construction begins on orthopaedic center

After acquiring property in a prime West St. Louis County location, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Barnes-Jewish Hospital have begun construction of a $13 million outpatient orthopaedic facility.

The building, at 14532 S. Outer Forty Drive in Chesterfield, Mo., will be a 60,000-square-foot facility offering comprehensive, one-stop outpatient care, including physician offices, exam rooms, ambulatory surgery suites, diagnostic radiology (including MRI imaging and general diagnostic services) and rehabilitation and hand therapy services.

The center will be the department’s primary facility for sports medicine, hand surgery, shoulder surgery, foot and ankle surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

“This facility is designed to provide patients with the latest, technologically advanced orthopaedic care,” said Richard H. Gelberman, M.D., the Fred C. Reynolds Professor, head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and chief of orthopaedic surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Patients will have access to minimally invasive surgical procedures that will allow them to be admitted and discharged on the same day. Non-surgical services will include a rehabilitation center, and the building will include space to support future expansions when they become necessary.”

All surgeons, physiatrists, radiologists and anesthesiologists at the new center will be Washington University physicians. Barnes-Jewish Hospital, affiliated with BJC HealthCare, will manage the ambulatory surgery center, including pre-operative, operative and post-operative services and the radiology services including the MRI and general diagnostic radiology. Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital will manage the rehabilitative service and outpatient physical therapy, and hand services will be provided by physical therapists from the Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis’ Milliken Hand Rehabilitation Center.

The facility will relocate and expand orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine services from clinical offices at 1020 N. Mason Road, near Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. The services offered in the new location will complement the department’s existing clinical practice at the Center for Advanced Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where spinal, joint replacement, trauma and orthopaedic oncology services are based.

Clayco is the general contractor, Larry Chapman the developer and ACI/Boland the project architect. Construction is under way and is scheduled for completion next summer.