PORTSMOUTH – Jonathan Byron was the first patient to come through the doors of Atlantic Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine’s newly constructed facility at 1900 Lafayette Road.
A Portsmouth resident, Byron, 33, was hit by a truck at the age of 12 and endured multiple surgeries on both legs. He also suffered three head fractures.
“I drive to Boston to sit at a desk job at John Hancock,” Byron said. “Between sitting all day and spending four hours driving, I have a lot of pain in my back and knees. There’s very little cartilage left in both knees, so I’m seeing the doctor here.”
He was scheduled for a consultation with Dr. Andrew McMahon.
It was Bryon’s first time to AOSM, so while he was impressed by the new facility that opened Monday, Feb. 15, he didn’t know just how much of an improvement it is over the former location on Route 1 Bypass.
The next patient, Marc Shepcaro of Rye, however, could compare the two. He had a knee replacement in October 2015, and was at AOSM for a follow-up visit with Dr. Robert Eberhart.
“This is impressive,” Shepcaro said of the new building that is more than double the size of the older one. “A shorter drive from home, too.”
The new facility is 21,000-square-feet compared to 10,000-square-feet at the old location.
The state-of-the-art building is also home to ProCare Physical Therapy, Shields MRI, and new cutting-edge technology, including a U-ARM DR X-ray machine by Viztek.
The digitally innovative U-ARM DR equipment features superior image quality, the ability to view soft tissue and bones in greater magnitude, and decreases the possibility of operator error.
The X-ray’s flexible structure also allows for examination of patients standing, sitting or in a lying position.
The team at AOSM is excited to introduce technology like the U-ARM DR, as well as new procedures for cartilage restoration and tendon repair.
“This enhances our practice for our patients across the Seacoast and Southern Maine,” said Yvette Varney, practice administrator.
The almost 4-acre site on Lafayette Road, next to the new Paul A. Doble Army Reserve Center, was approved for two medical buildings to be built on the grounds.
The first floor has four check-in and four checkout stations with employees crossed-trained to be where they’re needed at any given time during patient visits.
There is a large waiting room with a children’s area, two diagnostic scheduling offices, and two surgical scheduling offices.
The ground floor also includes a medical assistants’ work area, and four pods where two providers will have three examination rooms in each pod.
AOSM currently has 11 providers that include six orthopedic surgeons, a podiatrist, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and three physician assistants.
The first floor also includes two digital x-ray suites, the information technology room, a triage area for follow-up patients and an MRI space for consultation. A permanent MRI trailer sits on the grounds in the back of the building adjoining the indoor space.
ProCare, an onsite physical therapy practice, occupies 7,900-square feet on the second floor with two examination/treatment rooms and a gym, with an occupational therapy station.
“The space has a lot of windows to let in natural light,” Varney said.
Also on the second floor will be billing and transcription rooms with computer stations that can adjust to be used standing or sitting. The administrative offices, conference room and doctors offices are also on the upper level.
Varney said the company gave a lot of thought to the design of the exterior of the building as well.
“We wanted it to blend with the community and the Seacoast,” she said.
There are 172 parking spaces and a sheltered drop off/pick up area at the main entrance. Varney said since cars can only exit southbound from AOSM, a service road that opens onto West Road was built for those who want to head north on Lafayette Road.
