Baptist Center for Joint Replacement

Baptist Medical Center Downtown and Baptist Medical Center Beaches now offer the only destination joint center in Northeast Florida – the Baptist Center for Joint Replacement. The new Joint Center is offered for individuals who plan to undergo surgery to replace hips and knees affected by trauma or arthritis.

At the Baptist Center for Joint Replacement, small groups of participants go together through the process – from pre-surgical education and surgery, to recovery, rehabilitation and discharge. Involving participants in the process from the beginning helps to make joint replacement a positive, transformative experience.

In this atmosphere of mutual support and intense rehabilitation, Joint Center participants are motivated, typically experience shorter hospital stays and have speedier recoveries than in traditional surgical settings. Patients support each other, make new friends and have better outcomes.

Several weeks before surgery, participants are invited to a two-hour class led by the Joint Center coordinator who will educate the group about joint replacement surgery – before, during and after. The class explains the procedure, pain control measures and exercises participants must do.

Participants are encouraged to bring a loved one as their "coach" to work during physical therapy and recovery.

Our Healing Environment

Our Joint Center participants have surgery in the hospital, but it doesn't look much like one. The environments at Baptist Downtown and Baptist Beaches were created for a superior experience and optimal patient outcomes.

Because the Joint Center is wellness-oriented, participants are encouraged to wear casual clothes throughout their stay because after all – they're not sick!

What to Expect

Most participants will receive the surgery on Monday and are typically discharged to their home on Thursday; those who have surgery on Tuesday will normally go home on Friday.

On the first day after surgery, hospital equipment is removed from participants' rooms. They are quickly taken off IV pain medication. The faster participants are mobile and off IV medication, typically, the faster they recover.

As soon as possible after surgery, you will be helped to your feet to begin your journey to an active lifestyle again. Our fun, interactive recovery approach includes group physical therapy with friendly competition, group lunches with your coach and staff, and other special touches.

Participants will receive a newsletter each day in the hospital that updates their progress, and an ambulation board will also track daily mobility progress.

Before discharge from the hospital, the participant and his or her coach will receive complete instructions on medications, follow-up care, and the exercise and therapy regimen. Participants are also sent home with an informative guide that details the Joint Center process, starting from six weeks before surgery through three months afterward. At each appointment, the care team writes notes in the guide book documenting each individual's progress.

Our Joint Center Team

At the Baptist Center for Joint Replacement, our team of orthopaedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, certified nurse aides, physical therapists, clinical pharmacists, social workers and care managers are backed by the latest technology. They also work together to create care plans tailored to meet the individual needs of Joint Center participants.

Participants who need additional help following surgery, such as outpatient care, home health or rehab services, will be assisted by our program coordinators.

Baptist Downtown JOI-San Marco	Baptist Beaches JOI-Beaches and Point Meadows
(Left to right)  Drs. Carlos R. Tandron, Philip R. Hardy, Steven M. Crenshaw, William G. Pujadas and R. Stephen Lucie	(Left to right)  Drs. Edward D. Young, M. John von Thron, Dale A. Whitaker and Steven J. Lancaster