Eisenhower Desert Orthopedic Center celebrates the completion of its three-year expansion

Eisenhower Desert Orthopedic Center (EDOC) celebrated its completion of its three-year, $68 million expansion Tuesday. The expansion includes state-of-the-art surgical suites, expanded physical therapy, occupational therapy and clinical space, plus new technology and equipment.

“We started with 55 thousand square feet here, two operating rooms, and clinic space,” said Stephen O'Connell, MD, the chairman and president of Eisenhower Desert Orthopedic Center. Now, the facility is nearly doubled in size with an expanded occupational and physical therapy, an additional 22 exam rooms in the clinic, and six additional operating rooms. “Operating rooms equipped with 4k arthroscopic equipment, augmented intelligence, robotic surgery, and state of the art sterilization techniques,” said O'Connell. The facility also has an advanced MRI machine, which is the first in the Coachella Valley.

“Everyone in the community experiences orthopedic injuries from trauma to elective surgery,” said O'Connell. The additional space has allow allowed for more full-time staff along with traveling staff members to be added to the team. “The joy is now we have such an influx of patients, with the additions of our physicians and more people in the desert we are able to accommodate their growing volume,” said the director of physical therapy at Eisenhower Health, Paige Larson.

Orthopedics at Eisenhower is about 40% of the surgical volume. Doctors said that having this expanded facility specifically for orthopedics can help free up a lot of operating space for other physicians within the hospital.

“We will have the ability to have very efficient pre-operative area, post-operative area, and the ability to stay overnight for those patients that are in need,” said O'Connell. The surgery center is expecting to start taking patients sometime in June. The clinic, physical therapy, and occupational therapy areas are currently operational.

Luella Grangaard has been working at Eisenhower for 30 years. “I couldn’t have imagined 30 years ago the growth this building and these services would have had,” said Grangaard.

O'Connell said that this project would not be possible without the incredible philanthropy of the community. “I’m hoping that the donors see that the return of their investment is going to be the improved health, wellbeing and function of countless orthopedic patients for many years to come,” said O'Connell.