When Karson hurt his knee last month, his mother took him straight into the convenient walk-in Rapid Orthopaedic Care clinic in Hawks Prairie. “Everyone at the ROC clinic was amazing,” shares his mother Tammi Schreiner. “The staff was wonderful and they saw us so quickly.” While an injured knee is not a fun situation for anyone, the Schreiners knew the quickest way to access and receive care for an orthopeadic issue is to head straight to the ROC clinic.
Many locals are surprised to learn that a visit to the emergency room is no longer necessary for breaks, sprains, strains and muscle injuries. The emergency room certainly is critical for acute medical issues, but if your injury is orthopaedic in nature, the long waits and interactions with sick people can be avoided altogether.
The Rapid Orthopaedic Care clinic is a new service line provided by long-time Olympia care provider Olympia Orthopaedic Associates (OOA). Staff at the ROC can quickly evaluate an injury and provide initial care or triage. They are in constant communication with the physician providers at OOA and this coordination of care makes a visit to the ROC a more pleasant and speedier experience than is often the case in the ER. By seeing patients at the ROC, not only are staff at our local hospitals freed up to care for ill and injured patients, but this also decreases healthcare costs for everyone.
A patient visiting the Rapid Orthopaedic Care clinic is seen by a physician assistant who specializes in orthopaedic injuries. All three PA-Cs at the ROC have extensive training in broken bones, fractures and dislocations. They can address minor dislocations such as fingers and shoulders, often reducing these in the clinic. While still painful, it’s quick and over in a flash. Over 90 percent of patients are in and out of the ROC in less than 60 minutes, much faster than the standard ER visit. While the medical costs may not be the first thought when our child has broken a bone or sprained ankle, the bill for an ER visit can be an unwelcome surprise. A visit to the ROC is billed as a regular appointment with a specialist through your insurance, typically with just a co-pay.
The Rapid Orthopaedic Care clinic opened in Hawks Prairie in September of 2016 and has been met with great enthusiasm by those in Olympia, Lacey, and Yelm. However, the location is not always ideal for patients in communities to the south and those in Shelton and Grays Harbor that rely on Olympia Orthopaedic Associates for orthopaedic care.
OOA heard this feedback and responded by opening a second ROC clinic location on Olympia’s Westside. The new Rapid Orthopaedic Care walk-in clinic opened on July 5 and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, located inside the Westside Clinic.
The two newest faces to the ROC are Matt Marshall and Rebecca Brisco. While they are new to OOA, they are not new to their profession. Rebecca Brisco came to Olympia from Dallas, Texas with her husband, a retired Dallas police officer, in May. They have been married for 13 years and spent their honeymoon in the Willamette Valley. They returned to Texas, but had fallen in love with the Pacific Northwest and returned five times over the next several years. When the opportunity to work with the surgeons at OOA arose, Rebecca jumped at the chance.
She and her husband put their two cats in the car and drove the 2200 miles to Lacey on what Rebecca calls, “a monumental journey.” Rebecca has no regrets and is thrilled to be living and working in her favorite vacation destination spot. “I love the flexibility of working for OOA,” shares Rebecca. “In my prior position I was working for one surgeon and on only one part of the body. Now I get to do and see a wide variety of things.”
Matt Marshall is a native of the PNW and has lived in Western Washington most of his life. Matt was active military and spent time as a reconnaissance squadron PA-C in the 82nd Airborne. He worked with preventative disease and training injuries, discovering he loved orthopaedics. “I love working at the Rapid Orthopaedic Care clinic,” shares Matt. “The whole OOA environment is collaborative and friendly. I have good working relationships with all the surgeons and we treat each other like family.” Matt and his wife Jessica live in Roy, Washington in the shadow of Mount Rainier with their three daughters ages 15, 8 and 4.
After a visit to the ROC, you may be seen by an OOA surgeon or a non–surgical sports medicine physician for further care. This appointment billed as a follow-up visit, again, keeping money in your pocket. Additionally, any x-rays or diagnostic tests that may have been ordered are all available in the OOA facility, eliminating the need to travel to another facility or track down your images.
Matt and Rebecca, along with fellow physician assistant Clint Miller, will work in both the Hawks Prairie and the Westside locations.
For more information on the either Rapid Orthopaedic Center visit the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates website.
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