Golden Valley, Minn.-based Twin Cities Orthopedics recently opened TCO Eden Prairie, a new 27,000-square-foot location in Minnesota with a sports concussion treatment center equipped with technologies including Eye-Sync, which uses virtual reality to diagnose concussion.
Chief Development Officer Chris Bailey connected with Becker's about the company's growth strategies, the new concussion center and plans for 2023.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What have been some effective growth strategies for the company when it comes to expansion and opening new clinics?
Chris Bailey: We have a foundation and the trust in care that we provide, and that's been driven by decades of quality care by our physicians at Twin Cities Orthopedics — so that's the foundation, that long-standing trust. When it relates to the market that we currently have in front of us, we're seeing an increase in population in the metropolitan area, which is driving demand, and with that we're also seeing increase in our market share in nearly every market we identify in across the entire Western Wisconsin and metropolitan area. We've seen an increase in market share year over year over the past five years, so the combination of increased demand and increased market share together is really driving our growth. I can't understate the fact that the quality and consistency of the care that our physicians have provided allow us to have this opportunity. We also try to keep our pulse on what the community is demanding. We're developing what we hear and see the community demand, and that's driving our program development and facility design and growth as well.
Q: Is the sports concussion center at the new location one of those things that people have been asking for and people have been wanting, and that's why it was added?
CB: Exactly. We have not even advertised that we take care of sports concussions over the past several years, but we see a lot of it and it continues to grow. Because of that growth and demand, we decided to put a stake in the ground to create a center of excellence for this care. We've recruited and developed specialized staff and invested in technologies that are unique to the Twin Cities area and market that we can house out of that facility. Some of those things we can't replicate at every location due to just the limited number of providers that are so specialized and cost of technologies, but we're able to bring this facility along as a real leader in the area of comprehensive care of these complex issues with sports concussions.
Q: What sets Twin Cities Orthopedics apart from other orthopedic and spine care groups or care providers? What qualities and characteristics make you stand out?
CB: We are physician owned and led, and that's somewhat unique in the market and across the country. There are less and less physician owned and led groups as there's been more mergers and acquisitions. What that allows us to do is really focus on patient care, and it attaches our physicians' names and kind of more personal brands to the care they deliver. I think the physicians feel a lot of ownership in that type of care that they deliver, and they also have an increased sense of responsibility for the business side of things. Another core value of Twin Cities Orthopedics is innovation, and that allows us to continue staying forward-thinking and in pursuit of excellence in orthopedics but also in other areas that are coming in contact with orthopedics, such as sports concussion care.
Q: What are some goals that the company has for either the remainder of 2023 or even beyond that?
CB: Our strategic plan has people at the middle of that, so taking care of our own people — whether it be our physicians, athletic trainers, techs, support staff, therapists or management — we have that as a primary goal right now. Coming out of everything that our society has experienced in the past few years, we know that people at the center is important. Growth is always part of what we're talking about TCO as well. Facilities in Hudson and Plymouth will be new; we're also opening a spot in Forest Lake; even up in Staples, Minn., in the Brainerd Lakes area. So we have that all on our roster of items for 2023 to open. Physician recruitment is always on our list of high priorities, and so those are what we have as our primary goals in 2023 and 2024.