Valley View opens new orthopedic center in Basalt

Valley View, an independent, non-profit health-care system based in Glenwood Springs, is making orthopedic care even more accessible to those who live in the upper valley.

On Wednesday, the organization held a grand opening, complete with a ribbon-cutting, for their new orthopedic surgery center in Basalt. The opening was jam packed with the Roaring Fork Valley residents.

The new center will offer outpatient care, focusing on treatments for simple fractures, sports medicine, hand surgery, foot and ankle surgery, spine pain management, and outpatient knee and hip joint replacements.

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“The goal of a facility like this is to provide service for patients. They come in, get their procedure done, and then they can get discharged within a quick amount of time following their procedure to go home,” said Tim Gay, director of the Valley View Surgery Center.

One of the main goals of the center was to shorten the amount of time those in the upper valley spend commuting to and from Valley View to receive the medical care they need, according to Dr. Tom Pevny, an orthopedic surgeon at ValleyOrtho.

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“Most of my patients have to drive right now from Aspen all the way to Valley View; and to be honest with you, most of them don’t mind doing that,” he said. “But this offers a new option for them.”

The new center is a complete overhaul of the surgery center in Mid Valley Medical Center, which has been in the valley since 1998, according to George Tantrow, chief of physician operations at Valley View.

Valley View purchased the space toward the end of 2020 and began working with local partners — Snowmass Village F&M Architects and New Castle RS Wittrig Construction — to conceptualize the layout of the space.

“When you see places like The W in Aspen getting a huge overhaul, this is the big overhaul for the surgery center in Basalt,” said Tantrow. “It’s just a vast improvement.”

The center is complete with state-of-the-art equipment, including a Mako Robot Arm, which no other center in the valley has, according to Dr. Pevny.

“The Mako robot will allow us to do total knee replacements, as well as partial knee replacements, which which I believe we’ll be the only facility in the valley that will be doing that, certainly robotically,” he said.

The reason for developing a new orthopedic center over other forms of health care was to meet the need of those in the community, Valley View officials said.

According to Tantrow, active lifestyles and orthopedic health care go hand in hand. In a valley where outdoor recreation is in surplus, it’s no wonder that demand for orthopedic care is high.

“This valley has a long history of orthopedic care,” he said. “It goes hand in hand with an active lifestyle.

“We’re blessed that we’ve got world class surgeons, but because of skiing, mountain biking, climbing, fly fishing — all of these sports involves some kind of impact, and a lot of times, there’s many orthopedic injuries,” he said.

While the focus is currently on orthopedic care, this summer the center is planning to offer gastrointestinal program as well.

To reach Kristen Mohammadi, call 304-650-2404 or email kmohammadi@aspentimes.com.