With 30 locations in the greater Minneapolis area and more than 79 highly trained physicians, TCO is the largest, most comprehensive and prestigious orthopedic practice in Minnesota and the Midwest, and is one of the largest in the United States. The practice provides conservative, top-quality care and research and uses state-of-the-art technology and procedures to help return each patient to an active, pain-free lifestyle.

TCO was formed between 1996 and 2003 when five orthopedic practices, each of which began nearly 60 years ago, combined. TCO has three goals: 1) To provide worldclass, compassionate care to individuals of all ages with musculoskeletal injuries and conditions; 2) improve the musculoskeletal health of our communities through research and education; and 3) be the orthopedic provider and employer of choice for Twin Cities residents.

New Physicians
Joining the practice in 2008 are Jay Johnson, MD, Christie Heikes, MD, and Erik Wetter, MD. Dr. Wetter specializes in general orthopedics and sports medicine, while Dr. Heikes’ emphasis is in women’s orthopedics and sports medicine. The addition of Dr. Heikes will be of particular benefit to those who prefer to be seen by a female physician. Dr. Johnson, who has been practicing in the Twin Cities for several years, specializes in total joints and general orthopedics.

Additional locations
TCO also is in the midst of an ambitious expansion program in the following locations:

Maple Grove: To meet the demands of a growing market (with a 90-bed hospital that is expected to open its doors in February 2009), TCO has opened a full-service clinic that includes physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics.

Waconia: TCO is expanding its presence in the Waconia market by providing physical therapy, orthotics, and prosthetics programs and by adding a spine specialist and MedX, a back pain rehabilitation program. The
goal of MedX is to strengthen the back using preventive-type medicine to help the patient avoid undergoing invasive spinal surgery. The new Waconia location has additional space to accommodate the possibility of adding future orthopedic surgeons.

Coon Rapids and Burnsville: Expansions similar to Waconia have already taken place in these two communities. In Coon Rapids, one of TCO’s two offices has moved into a larger building that also houses a clinic, a physical therapy center, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and MedX. In Burnsville, the new building houses a surgery center, physical and hand therapy centers, an MRI, and orthotics and prosthetics services.

Edina: With a long-standing presence of four sites in this city, TCO plans to consolidate them into one orthopedic “Center of Excellence” during the next two years, said Troy Simonson, TCO administrator. To enhance the continuity of care for patients it will include every orthopedic specialty and sub-specialty at one convenient location. Plans for the Edina center also include a surgery center, physical therapy, hand therapy, MRI, orthotics, prosthetics, and MedX. Once the center is complete, patients will be able to have all their orthopedic needs met at one central location housing as many as 30 physicians. “We’ve been there (Edina) for many years, but we’ve been fragmented,” Simonson said. “Now, we’re looking to provide improved customer service to our patients and provide those services more efficiently.”

The common goal driving much of the expansion is improving patient satisfaction. “For example, to improve the convenience and continuity of care we are striving to provide the full spectrum of orthopedic care patients desire at one convenient location,” Simonson said.

Patient satisfaction
To better gauge patient service, TCO has begun a patient satisfaction campaign. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires and, to date, more than 1,600 responses have been obtained. Survey feedback indicates that 96 percent of patients either agreed or strongly agreed that “I would rate my overall care at TCO as excellent.” On a second question — “Was staff helpful, courteous and did staff treat me respectfully?” — 97 percent either agreed or strongly agreed. “We are looking to gather this data continually,” Simonson said. “We are constantly going to measure and maintain that high level of service.”