Feb. 27, 2023

Orthopedic Institute is moving from its longtime home on the Avera McKennan campus to a new building on land it just purchased near the future 85th Street interchange.

The independent physician group plans a two-story, 70,000-square-foot clinic and office in the Bakker Landing development in Tea, south of 85th Street and west of Interstate 29 – near where the interchange is planned in the next few years.

“The first driver is really focusing on our patients. Our current space, while it’s wonderful, we’ve outgrown it from one perspective, and it’s dated,” CEO Lynda Barrie said. “We looked at different options, as far as from a patient experience. Do we remodel what we have or start fresh to make sure we’re as efficient as possible and it’s a modern facility for our patients? We just felt looking at a completely new location would be able to give us the best option to give something that is patient-focused.”

The new building will be designed with patient-facing space on the first floor, including clinical space, advanced image and procedure capabilities and outpatient physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation. Administrative space will be on the second floor.

“Having a multilevel experience can be challenging for the patient at times, especially in orthopedics,” Barrie said. “And once the interchange is built, it will be extremely easy to get to it, and they won’t have to navigate the type of medical campus that can get confusing.”

Orthopedic Institute has 19 physicians and nearly 250 employees serving Sioux Falls, plus 14 satellite locations in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. OI treats patients for relief of joint, bone or muscle pain or injury without requiring a doctor’s referral. Its physicians specialize in complex total joint preservation, reconstruction or replacement procedures, nonsurgical and surgical spine care needs and pain management with non-opioid solutions.

“Our goal is to help patients overcome their pain or injury to allow them to get back to doing the things they love. We strive to make this process as convenient, personalized and efficient as possible for our patients,” Dr. David Jones Jr., board president and an orthopedic hand surgeon, said in a statement. “We believe this location will provide easy access for our patients from the greater Sioux Falls region and those from surrounding communities.”

Barrie became interim CEO four years ago and took over officially Jan. 1, 2021. Her 34-year health care career includes 12 years doing consulting work, which is what connected her with OI from her home in Florida.

“I was fortunate to work in many states, and the Sioux Falls community has very much more than I ever expected. The medical community is very far advanced from what I see in other areas of the same size,” she said. “Just as a community, that’s amazing, but then the growth Sioux Falls is seeing and projected to see I think has helped all of us in the medical community.”

Her priorities, shared by the board, have been growth and “continuing to develop our culture for our employees,” she said. “We concentrate highly on the staff and their input, and I think that’s highly valued by the employees. What we’re hearing from employees coming in is the word on the street is it’s a really good place to work.”

OI has been located on the Avera McKennan campus for nearly 25 years. The health system purchased the building a few years ago and is now OI’s landlord, which Barrie calls a friendly relationship.

“They’re great landlords, and there was really no change or impact to us with the building transitioning over to them.”

The 8-acre location near the future interchange offers nearly “immeasurable” benefit, said Kristen Zueger, a commercial broker with Lloyd Cos. who represented OI in its site selection.

“The whole interchange has been anticipated for 15, 20 years, and the fact it’s becoming reality right now really makes all four of those corners highly valuable from a development standpoint,” she said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of activity happening in that area. I’m anxious to see the end result because I really feel like it’s going to be the next big interchange in Sioux Falls.”

For OI, the location fits its “diverse clientele from all over the region,” Zueger continued. “We looked at something that would be highly visible, so it’s really going to market itself. The visibility and ease of access for patients and the interchange is what really sold it.”

Lincoln County Commissioner Jim Schmidt agreed the project likely will drive development.

“As the primary sponsor of the interchange, Lincoln County is proud to have OI choose this area for its new home and become an anchor in the development,” Schmidt said in a statement.

“This project will spur additional investment and growth serving Tea, Harrisburg and the entire Sioux Falls region. OI’s decision affirms the investment in the interchange and will enhance the quality of life for everyone in the community.”

The plan for OI is to start construction later this year. From there, it will take 18 to 24 months to build. New York-based HCP Architects is the architect, and New York-based BBL Medical Facilities, which has built other OI projects, is the contractor.

Design of the interchange is expected to be done soon, with bidding midyear. From there, it’s a two-year construction project.