EmergeOrtho is expected to continue to expand in the Cape Fear region and beyond.
 
The physician-owned orthopedic practice is set to break ground July 26 on an ambulatory surgery center in Brunswick County.
 
The new medical office building at 1168 Cutlar Crossing in The Villages at Brunswick Forest will include the county’s first dedicated orthopedic surgery center.
 
The proposed project was realized through a certificate of need (CON) awarded to Brunswick Surgery Center by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The CON was awarded based on an analysis of the 2016 State Medical Facilities Plan, which revealed the need for a new operating room to meet the needs of Brunswick County’s growing population.
 
Stephen DeBiasi, EmergeOrtho’s chief executive officer, said EmergeOrtho is poised to remain a major health care provider in the Wilmington region, with more growth foreseen in the future.
 
“Our biggest short-term priority is developing the new ambulatory surgery center in Brunswick County. We already offer orthopedics, pain management, MRI and physical and occupational therapy in Leland, so the new facility is an expansion of those services in anticipation of the increasing demand and population growth,” DeBiasi said in an email.
 
DeBiasi said that one other facility change made recently involves the relocation of EmergeOrtho’s orthopedic urgent care service, AccessOrtho, to an office on Oleander Drive.
 
“It opened in April and has been incredibly well received by patients,” he said.
 
Last year, EmergeOrtho opened a new facility in Shallotte and already has locations in Sunset Beach and Southport.
 
EmergeOrtho is the result of a series of mergers, the most significant being finalized in August 2016 when three independent orthopedic physician groups across North Carolina joined with OrthoWilmington. EmergeOrtho now has at least 49 office locations in 21 counties statewide.
 
Wilmington locations include 3787 Shipyard Blvd. and 2716 Ashton Drive, with others in Brunswick and Onslow counties.
 
The Leland ambulatory surgery center will offer “a full range of orthopedic services, including surgery and diagnostic imaging with advanced MRI,” DeBiasi said.
 
The three-story, 55,578-squarefoot building will include one operating room and two procedure rooms, all of which will be housed on the first floor. The second floor will contain orthopedics examination and treatment rooms, which are being relocated from their current Brunswick Forest location.
 
Pain management and physical therapy services will be provided on the top floor, after being moved from the Waterford and Brunswick Forest offices, respectively.
 
DeBiasi said the relocation of services will happen in phases, and the new facility will create at least 25 jobs.
 
He said EmergeOrtho is expected to continue to grow and develop in the areas of patient care and service.
 
“We have a fantastic opportunity to see what works and what can be improved in each of the practices which are now part of EmergeOrtho,” he said. “We hope to continue to leverage the talents across the state.”