Betty Dillard bdillard@bizpress.net
The Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute is stretching and growing. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael H. Boothby founded the practice two years ago, locating it in a small strip mall building in southwest Fort Worth. Rapid growth of the business has resulted in Boothby building a bigger clinic and expanding services. “We’re building for the future,” Boothby said. “We hope to have three or four doctors and bring in new services. The practice is growing.” Construction started in late May on a 20,000-square-foot, two-story facility, located in the new Edwards Ranch Development. OSMI’s new digs will be easily accessible from South Hulen Street, Bryant Irvin Road and the Chisholm Trail Toll Road, upon its completion. The architectural firm is Ames Fender Architect of Fort Worth. The contractor is Mike Farris of Michael Farris Construction. Construction completion is expected by March 2014. “We found the Edwards Ranch area to be exciting. It’s really growing. It’s a great location with great accessibility,” Boothby said. “With the new toll road going in, other medical buildings, retail shopping and restaurants being added, it’s going to change that area into a new hot spot in town. We’re excited to be a part of that.” A native of New Hampshire, Boothby earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he met his future wife, Dr. Ann Ranelle, of Fort Worth. Seven years ago, the couple moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After finishing his residency in Plano, Boothby began working for a small group practice in south Fort Worth while Ranelle, an ophthalmologist specializing in both pediatric and adult eye care, joined her father’s practice, Fort Worth Eye Associates. Dr. H.W. Ranelle, the first physician in Fort Worth to perform the modern cataract implant, founded Fort Worth Eye Associates and is celebrating 40 years in practice. Boothby’s practice includes a clinical side with 11 current employees, including two physician assistants, and a physical therapy program with a staff of 10 to 12, including five physical therapists and two occupational therapists. The team treats all types of orthopedic complaints, combining clinical orthopedic surgery, rehabilitative sports medicine, and physical and occupational therapy. Boothby’s sub-specialty is complex arthroscopic surgery of the knee and shoulder – rotator cuff and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears are among the most common type of injuries – but more than 80 percent of his patients are treated medically, he says. Thanks to advancements in medical technology, many common injuries that would have required surgery a few years ago can now be treated with less invasive procedures. These minimally invasive procedures result in a more rapid recovery and a reduced risk of infection, Boothby added. “We use surgery less. We try to find non-surgical options for every injury and condition before surgery is recommended,” he said. “One of the reasons we started this practice is because we wanted to give patients a complete package from A to Z in how they receive care. We can solve most patients’ problems with therapy. Physical therapy is a valuable part of our practice. We’ve found it to be very successful in our non-operative treatment.” In OSMI’s current 6,000-square-foot space, the clinical practice is separated from the therapy program. The new, larger space will allow both the clinical and therapy sides to come together under one roof, with room to expand. “We’re excited about the technology we’ll have for patients in the new center,” Boothby said. “We’ll be able to expand the physical therapy component with a special hydrotherapy pool and also start new, advanced performance programs. We’ll be able to rehab sports patients through therapy and back to their lifestyles even faster.” About one-third of OSMI’s business is sports medicine while another one-third is treating injuries for the weekend warrior, Boothby said. The remainder of his patients have standard injuries sustained from falls, car wrecks and work-related accidents. Boothby also specializes in high school sport injuries, and is either team physician or head orthopedic consultant for several local high schools, including Aledo, Brewer, Crowley and North Crowley. OSMI conducts more than 1,000 physicals annually for high school athletes and also works with Trident Sports FW, a triathlon club in Fort Worth. Boothby said education is vital to preventing and minimizing injuries to collegiate and high school athletes as well as cheerleaders, a group seeing a higher rate of catastrophic injuries. He said his practice also is treating an increasing amount of younger patients, some as young as 8 or 10. “We’re starting to see overuse of a sport in a much younger age and injuries occur that used to be in a collegiate athlete or high school player,” Boothby said. “It’s hard with kids because they’re kids. They’re not thinking. You have to teach them. In the summer they’re not as active and then they hit Two-A-Days and aren’t ready for that transition. Some won’t have eaten breakfast, either.” Stretching, hydration, nutrition and diet are important for both children and adults to decrease the risk of injury, Boothby says. “We use a very patient-centered approach. We pride ourselves in putting the patient first in everything we do,” Boothby said. “We try to provide not only the highest quality orthopedic and sports therapy in the Metroplex but also the best experience for our patients. We try to make the healing process as stress-free as possible. That won’t change when we move to our new building.”