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New Orthopaedics Chair

Mark Abel, M.D., Plans to Improve Access, Expand Programs

A pilot program is launching this year in the University of Virginia Health System’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Its purpose: to ensure access to an orthopaedic clinic within one week of referral. The pilot is just one of several initiatives planned by Mark Abel, M.D., the department’s new chair. “We have an expanding faculty of board-certified and highly specialized orthopaedic surgeons, and we’re committed to making sure we’re accessible to the entire state as well as the region,” says Abel.

The department plans to add three new orthopaedic surgeons this year – one specializing in hand and upper extremity procedures, one specializing in spine procedures and one specializing in sports medicine – to complement a recently added non-surgical faculty member specializing in pediatric musculoskeletal medicine. A fourth new surgeon, specializing in trauma procedures, is scheduled to be added next year. Additional support staff, such as physician assistants and nurses, will also be hired to make it easier for referred patients to access UVA’s comprehensive orthopaedics services.

“I believe we need a robust clinical program to drive our education and research,” Abel says. “You have to understand patients’ medical needs and priorities to generate the research ideas.”

Growing Programs

Abel also envisions expanding the department’s outreach and offerings. In Culpeper, where UVA has established a partnership with Culpeper Regional Hospital, Abel hopes to partner with local orthopaedic surgeons to provide highly specialized orthopaedic care.

Abel also wants to expand and strengthen the multidisciplinary collaboration with other departments at UVA. For instance, a freestanding Spine Center is due to open in December 2009, building on the collaboration with UVA’s Department of Neurosurgery. Surgeons from the two departments now perform about 1,400 procedures annually. Abel adds that the Hand Center, which partners with the Department of Plastic Surgery, will also be in a new location in December 2009. Abel is also working with his sports medicine faculty to establish a Sports Medicine Center with members of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and UVA’s physical therapists. UVA’s sports medicine specialists provide care for teams at both UVA and James Madison University.

“Our multidisciplinary collaboration enables us to provide an ideal complement of non-operative and operative treatments,” he says.

To refer a patient for orthopaedics care, call UVA Physician Direct at 800.552.3723.