Brain center opens in Winter Garden

Orlando Neurosurgery, the oldest and largest neurosurgical practice in Central Florida, has opened its new Orlando Neurosurgery Spine and Brain Center in Winter Garden.

The center is part of the new 23,241-square-foot medical office building acquired by Flagship Healthcare Properties. The property is anchored by AdventHealth Well 65+, a primary care practice that has five locations across Central Florida. Co-tenants of the space include AdventHealth Sports Med and Rehab, Winter Garden OB/GYN, Orlando Neurosurgery and The Ear, Nose, Throat & Plastic Surgery Associates.

Orlando Neurosurgery celebrated its grand opening with its partner AdventHealth at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Dr. Ravi H. Gandhi, neurosurgeon and partner at Orlando Neurosurgery, said the center is filling a vital role to the residents of West Orange County by providing a comprehensive offering of spine and brain care treatments to serve the growing population in the area.

“We saw an opportunity; we’ve been coming to Winter Garden,” he said. “Winter Garden is a well-established community with a large number of people and then an area that has just been underserved by quality neurosurgery for a very long time, and so we thought, ‘Hey, this is a good test case to prove this model is something that patients want.’ Now, they can come and get the best care in the state in their own backyards.”

CENTER CREATION

Craig Brubaker, vice president of AdventHealth’s Neuroscience Institute, said the organization had physicians that had offices in the West Orange County area that had been part of the institute for a period of years, but they were mostly part-time offices because there was not a proven need.

Three years ago, before the pandemic, Gandhi came to his office and suggested creating a walk-in spine center.

“The intent of this is to give a next-day appointment for somebody (who) needs back pain care and attention,” Brubaker said. “Our rehab — it sits downstairs, they haven’t opened yet — but our physical therapies, they’re going to have their acupuncture, pain medicine has lease space in here, we have imaging, concierge service. … Making sure that we’re treating every aspect of the patient’s needs and their busy (schedules) is important.”

The Orlando Neurosurgery Spine and Brain Center spans 2,100 square feet and houses five exam rooms with office space. 

There are six staff members at the office with four doctors: Gandhi, Dr. Kelvin Wilsom, Dr. Saeed Sadrameli and Dr. Ryan Moncman. 

Gandhi, who has been in his role for more than eight years, said his job has been to help modernize the customer experience, in addition to providing cutting-edge medicine. He said the Winter Garden center and flagship office, which was moved to AdventHealth’s Innovation Tower in downtown Orlando in December, are the first iterations of that concept.

Gandhi expects the new West Orange office to provide a fast and convenient way to treat patients.

“Obviously, some patients may not be able to feasibly be seen within 24 hours but they can get an appointment, they can get an answer as to what the next step is very quickly,” he said. “That is something that is different. Most surgeon’s offices, most spine-related people, you have to go see your primary care doctor, then your primary care doctor has to order an MRI. Then they get the report of the MRI, then they send you to a spine surgeon. Then you have to wait a couple of weeks to see the spine surgeon. … Here, we are going to be able to get everything done in one facility. We’re creating a one-stop shop for all of your spine and brain related care.”

Orlando Neurosurgery treats myriad conditions, including brain cancer, brain tumors, carpal tunnel syndrome, disc herniation, spinal cord injury and  failed back surgery. 

Gandhi said his hope is the center can prove this concept and that patients have improved experiences so they can replicate the model in other places in the West Orange County division, such as Clermont or Apopka, and then expand to other territories. 

Already, in the five weeks the center has been open, it has seen more patients than had been seen in the whole year of 2022 from Winter Garden.

BLOSSOMING PARTNERSHIP

From a young age, Gandhi knew he wanted to be a neurosurgeon.

In fourth grade when his grandfather died of a stroke, he knew he wanted to do his best to be able to prevent that for someone else.

“Patients are the focus of why we do what we do,” he said. “It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of everything that we do, but because I always remember what my family went through, what my grandfather went through, and I always think about how I can make those things better … we treat lots of patients with strokes.”

AdventHealth Orlando is ranked No. 36 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for neurology and neurosurgery. Brubaker said the goal is to be in the top 15.

Gandhi said published data shows if a patient has a stroke and walks into an AdventHealth facility, they have a 10% better chance of walking out and a 10% better chance of surviving.

“When it comes to medicine and it comes to hospitals, I think sometimes hospitals tend to focus on, ‘How can we get people into our hospital?’ or ‘How can we basically get as many surgeries as possible?’ he said. “But I think it’s important for any medical facility, any doctor to remember that our goal and our obligation to the community and patients is to get people better. … I think that AdventHealth has done a very good job in realizing that our goal and our objective is to deliver care to patients where patients are and make things convenient and accessible.” 

Brubaker said the partnership with Orlando Neurosurgery allows AdventHealth to do so many more things together to deliver whole-person care.

After an appointment, Brubaker said he hopes a patient takes away a specific experience from their visit. 

“That they came into a top, affiliated, neurosurgical partners facility, received comprehensive, diagnostic care — or at least the next steps for getting their diagnostic care — and the right message about what the next steps are to alleviate their pain,” he said. “It’s efficient, and it’s easy with clear communication, and they’re back to their normal lives as soon as possible.”