Pensacolas Orthopedic Center plans to hire 200 new doctors and specialists to replace two of its orthopedist chairs.
The hospital said Tuesday that it will spend $250,000 to replace its orthopaedic unit, which had been in place since the 1960s.
It was replaced by a walk-in, high-tech unit in 2010.
“The new orthopedists are expected to improve patient care by ensuring that they are comfortable, have good patient skills, and are able to work effectively together in a team,” said the hospital in a news release.
The orthopedical unit, called the orthoposist chair, is the primary way patients receive orthopedies and braces.
It’s located in the orthopedis department, and is usually the only one on staff.
The department has more than 2,000 doctors and medical staff, and the hospital says it has added an additional 400 to the staff.
Pensacola officials said the department’s size and number of doctors and staff has been a source of concern for the hospital, which has had to hire and fire doctors and nurses.
The new doctors will be paid $75,000 per year, which will be split between two types of training.
The first will be a four-week training program that will include an initial consultation and a follow-up visit, and then another four weeks of work.
The second training program will focus on surgical procedures.
Petersen said the new doctors are trained to perform the most complex surgical procedures, and they are trained with the latest surgical tools, like lasers and electric shocks, that are needed to improve their patient care.
“The orthoposition chairs, we feel, are the best tool we have at our disposal in this area,” Petersen said.
“They’re able to do it in a very safe environment.
They’re very high-quality, high value products, so I’m really pleased with that.”
Petersens office is at the center of a lawsuit over the orthodontic unit.
A state judge in January dismissed the lawsuit, and in March, the Florida Court of Appeal ruled that the orthotic chair was “designed for its intended purpose” and not “for other purposes.”
Pesci said the orthotics chair will be replaced with a more modern, high tech chair.
He said the company has been looking at all of the options to replace it.
