GAINESVILLE – You don’t have to be a member of the National Football League to receive treatment on the Atlanta Falcons campus in Flowery Branch, but you might meet one if you go there as a patient of the recently opened Emory Orthopaedics and Spine Center located in the sprawling training complex on Falcon Parkway.
“Anybody can call that number and get an appointment to be seen…and go where the players go. We don’t require a referral and anybody can call…and be seen for any orthopaedic or muscle-skeletal problem.”
Those are the words of Dr. Scott Boden, Vice President of Business Innovation for Emory Healthcare. Boden was the guest speaker Tuesday morning for the South Hall Business Coalition’s online meeting.
While the new center will provide the healthcare services needed by the NFL franchise, Boden says the facility was also constructed to serve the local area. “The vast majority of patients that are going to be seen in this facility are actually not professional athletes, they’re folks like you and I that live in the community and are interested in an Emory-level of orthopaedic and muscle-skeletal care,” Boden said.
The number Boden referred to is (404) 778-3350, or contact can be made using the center’s website. Click here to link to that website.
Physical therapy will also be available onsite according to Boden. “We have one of the best physical therapy groups around,” Boden said, and he says sports performance research at the new facility will be an ongoing event.
“We’ve got a whole team of engineers and researchers that we have brought in,” he added. “They are reaching out to a lot of local area high schools, coaches and athletic directors. They’ll be putting on clinics both for coaches and players about injury prevention and injury safety.”
One of the features Boden spoke highly of at the new center is their MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) technology. He said it is the most advanced scanner in the nation. “Scans that normally take a half-hour…we’re getting done in twelve, thirteen minutes.”
Boden says Emory Healthcare’s decision to construct a state-of-the-art facility on the Falcons’ campus and overlooks the team's practice field matches well with Emory’s involvement with the other Atlanta sports teams. “In addition to earning the trust of the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Dream (WNBA), we’re also the official team healthcare provider for the Atlanta Braves,” Boden said.
“I’m excited that we’re going to be able to use it, but I’m also excited for everybody here in the Flowery Branch area, that they’re going to be able to use it as well,” said Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan in a video message. “It’s huge for us as players to have this facility on site…it’s going to make it so much more convenient for us as players.”
Boden invites everyone interested in learning more about the center and the services they provide to join him in a virtual tour of the new facility. Boden says you’ll be able to ask questions online of staff physicians during the tour. The event happens Thursday, March 25, from 5:30 until 7:00 p.m. and the public is invited to join by clicking here.
