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PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
Orthopedic practices feeling the pinch: 7 closures
since the pandemic
By Alan Condon
I
ndependent orthopedic groups, surgery
centers and specialty hospitals are among
the healthcare facilities that have fallen
by the wayside during the pandemic as
COVID-19 continues to inflict hardships
on providers, both from a health and an
economic standpoint.
Becker's has reported on several hospital,
physician group, ASC and clinic closures
in the past two years. Here is a list of those
locations and why they shut down:
1. Shriners Hospitals for Children an-
nounced in February that it is closing an
orthopedic hospital in Tampa, Fla., that
shifted to outpatient-only care in 2019.
Operating a clinic that offered only spe-
cialty care made it "challenging to deliver
care efficiently," a Shriners spokesperson
told the Tampa Bay Times.
2. Lags Medical Centers, a pain management
clinic chain, closed 23 California locations
in May without warning. e closures came
on the same day state officials suspended
Medi-Cal reimbursements to 17 of Lags
Medical Center's 28 locations, citing "poten-
tial harm to patients" and an ongoing inves-
tigation into allegations of fraud, according
to the Los Angeles Times.
3. Advanced Pain Management, a Wiscon-
sin-based chain of pain management practices
and ASCs, shut down 10 locations in 2020. e
company temporarily halted procedures during
the pandemic and paid $1 million to settle a
lawsuit related to alleged kickbacks and un-
necessary lab tests. e company that provides
services to APM also filed a petition for Chapter
128 receivership, a bankruptcy alternative.
4. Gilford, N.H.-based Advanced Orthopae-
dic Specialists temporarily closed in March
2021 when Laconia, N.H.-based Lakes
Region General Hospital did not renew its
service agreement aer the hospital was
acquired by Concord (N.H.) Hospital. How-
ever, the orthopedic group reopened three
months later aer joining Frisbie Memorial
Hospital in Rochester, N.H.
5. Las Cruces (N.M.) Orthopaedic Associates,
a four-physician group, closed in May 2020,
citing "unforeseen circumstances" tied to
the COVID-19 pandemic. All four surgeons
continue to provide care in the community
through different medical groups and clinics.
6. Overland Park, Kan.-based Pinnacle Re-
gional Hospital, which specialized in spinal
fusion, closed in April 2020. e hospital filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but
the added financial difficulties inflicted by the
pandemic forced it to close permanently.
7. Cooper County Memorial Hospital in
Boonville, Mo., which also specialized in
spine surgery as part of Hollywood, Fla.-
based Pinnacle Healthcare System, closed in
January 2020. Aer discussions with state
regulators, it was decided that the "economic
hardship of bringing the facility into compli-
ance" with regulations was too big a task for
the hospital to overcome, according to the
Columbia Missourian. n
Terminated New York orthopedic surgeon gets
community support
By Carly Behm
R
esidents in Warsaw, N.Y., are petitioning Wyoming
County Community Hospital to reinstate a ter-
minated orthopedic surgeon, Livingston County
News reported Feb. 19.
According to the petition, his practice has maintained
The Joint Commission's advanced hip and knee certi-
fication since 2019 and sees 500 to 700 patients per
month. Petition signers include hospital employees and
community members.
"Since 2014, Dr. Mason and his team have offered the
highest quality orthopedic services to our Wyoming
County community," the petition reads. "Highly regarded
by his colleagues, employees, and patients, Dr. Mason
was the highest ranking physician according to patient
survey scores at WCCH."
The petition garnered 646 signatures in its first 13 hours
online. As of Feb. 22, the petition has more than 2,400
signatures.
Dr. Mason and his physician assistant Jim O'May pub-
lished a letter Feb. 21 in The Daily News about their
departure. The letter said the termination or resignation
of Dr. Mason and other physicians happened after the
hospital's CEO, Don Eichenauer, retired and the hospital's
strategic direction changed.
The duo still plans to practice in western New York, the
letter said.
"We have been committed to providing the best ortho-
pedic care over the last 8 years and will stay committed,
unfortunately, not associated with WCCHS," they wrote.
"We would like to express our gratitude for your over-
whelming support over the years and are honored and
humbled by your trust in us, allowing us to care for you
and your loved ones."
Wyoming County Community Hospital did not respond
to a request from Becker's for comment. n
