It’s been 50 years since Kansas Joint and Spine Specialists opened their doors in Wichita, and as they plan to celebrate their anniversary they’re also celebrating their expansion into a growing Wichita suburb.
The clinic, which has a location in east Wichita, opened a Derby site in December. Now that construction has been completed, they are hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, April 13.
“We have a lot of our patients that come from rural areas (and) Ark City, Mulvane, Douglas, just down in kind of like southeast Kansas,” said Stefanie Harper, Kansas Joint and Spine Specialists’ administrator.
“Just providing a resource that was closer for those rural areas to be able to receive orthopedic care closer to home was really a main point for us to go (to) Derby.”
The Derby office is at 1101 North Rock Road. The clinics have six surgeons providing orthopedic care including spine care, joint replacement and more. Some of the clinic’s doctors specialize in sports medicine.
“(The clinics) are basically the same,” Harper said. “There’s a space for physical therapy … that’s next door, in a suite next to (Derby’s location). That’s kind of the only difference between both of us.”
Harper said that so far, the response from the community has been positive.
“A lot of our patients love that we could save them (a) 25-minute drive up to east Wichita,” Harper said. “It’s just been nice to be able . . . be more center located for these rural communities.”
Nothing is officially in the works right now, but Harper said that if the clinic does decide to continue expanding, she sees a need for a clinic in west Wichita.
“I think for potential, long term goals, we would want to have some type of site out west,” Harper said. “I think it would be (a few years) to make sure that we’re good and we can expand out there.”
The ribbon cutting and open house is Monday, April 13, 4:30 through 6:30 p.m. at the Derby clinic.
“We’re proud to be part of the Derby community and to expand access to high-quality orthopaedic care in a convenient location,” Dr. Justin Strickland, a sports medicine surgeon at Kansas Joint and Spine Specialists, said in a press release announcing the ribbon cutting. “This event is a chance for us to connect with the community, answer questions and show people what they can expect when they walk through our doors.”
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Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.