HERRIN — The Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois hosted an event Thursday to celebrate growth in its outpatient surgery center and the services it provides.
Andrew Zoller, a pre-operative and recovery room nurse at Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois, prepares for patients Thursday morning at the surgery center.
Marilyn Halstead
Justin Harris, CEO of OISI, served as master of ceremonies. He told the crowd that quality is important.
“Our goal is to provide the best musculoskeletal care in Southern Illinois,” Harris said.
He added that it’s a goal they have had for 20 years.
The group has grown a lot over those 20 years. In addition to musculoskeletal services, they have added neurological and spine care, interventional pain therapy, and podiatry.
Dr. J.T. Davis speaks during an event Thursday at Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois.
Marilyn Halstead
Dr. J.T. Davis said the surgery center did 52 surgeries a month when it first opened in 2004. Today, they are doing 250 outpatient surgeries per month.
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The outpatient surgery center is now doing total joint replacements. Patients can have knee, hip or shoulder replacement surgery and go home to sleep in their own bed.
Davis added that one source of pride is the training their physicians have.
“We take pride as an organization that our physicians train under the world’s best surgeons in the largest cities in the country and are honored to bring that back to Southern Illinois,” Davis said.
Rex Budde, president and CEO of SIH, said the two organizations have had a long partnership. Twenty years ago, 42% of people left the area to get health care. Both organizations work to provide quality services at home.
“Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois is a great resource for our region. You can get first class care right here,” Budde said.
Andrew Zoller, a pre-operative and recovery room nurse at Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois, prepares an IV for a patient Thursday morning at the surgery center.
Marilyn Halstead
He also said that convenience matters to patients. He compared outpatient joint replacement to Amazon. Just like it’s easy to pick a product and have it shipped to your home, you can have surgery and get discharged to sleep in your own bed that night.
Sen. Dale Fowler talked about visiting Garden of the Gods recently and meeting people from Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas, Florida and London. He said they had all learned about Southern Illinois before they came to visit.
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He wants Southern Illinoisans to learn about the quality health care organizations they have available at home, adding that the state is investing capital dollars in hospitals and clinics in the area.
“I’m thankful for all the opportunities we have in Southern Illinois. We all know the difficult times we are going through, but we have so much positive to be thankful for. That’s what I try to focus on. It’s what we all focus on,” Fowler said.
Rep. Paul Jacobs is the only physician in the Illinois House of Representatives.
Jacobs said he received a call from Juliana Stratton, lieutenant governor of Illinois. Her mother died from Alzheimer’s disease, and Stratton wanted every physician in the state to have eight hours of training on the disease.
“We’ve got to work to serve our patients,” Jacobs said.
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He said the physicians of OISI have do the same thing – serve their patients.
“Thank you for doing what you do,” Jacobs said.
The event included a reception and tour of the surgery center.
Orthopedic Institute of Southern Illinois has locations in Herrin, Carbondale, Chester, Pinckneyville and Harrisburg. It’s main campus in Herrin has the surgery center and rehabilitation, in addition to seeing patients.
For more information, visit oisil.com.