“Vertrae is the only center of this kind in the greater Dayton area, probably in Ohio,” Woods said. “Our entire business is focused solely on spine care.”
The surgery center portion of the 16,500-square-foot building is slated to make its debut in January, giving it the ability to perform outpatient spine surgery. It also will be able to keep patients overnight if necessary, Woods said.
Vertrae’s philosophy sets it apart from its competition, he said. “Our patients are guests and we are obsessed with making their experience special along the entire journey,” he said.
The Woods, in 2016, moved to Kettering from southern California, where he had worked in academic neurosurgery at Loma Linda University. Vertrae as a concept was conceived by the couple in 2015 as they discussed how they could make healthcare feel more patient-friendly.
They spent approximately five years planning exactly what they wanted to do, then spent the next three years executing their vision, Woods said. Construction of the spine center took about a year.
“Ideally, we wanted a single-story building with surface parking for easy access,” he said. “Some of our patients have poor mobility due to their condition. We also wanted the building to feel less like a doctor’s office and more like a boutique hotel or spa.”
Woods said he and his wife were excited to find a building that had “the bones” needed to carry out their vision. “We were able to completely renovate in the interior to create the warmth and vitality we wanted,” he said.
Woods, who did not provide an overall estimated dollar investment for the facility, said “building a world-class spine surgery center is a major undertaking.”
The business has 12 full-time employees and several independent contractors who help to support patient care.
Woods said the city of Miamisburg has embraced Vertrae “with open arms.”
“We’re so grateful for their support as we seek to bring value to the community locally and beyond,” he said. “We like that this building was right off I-75 and close to I-675. The building itself has tall ceilings, an open floor plan and lots of windows for natural lighting. It kind of just fell in our laps and we could not be more thrilled.”
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