Skip to main content

Why Us

Committed to providing patients with the leading treatments and compassionate care in a healing environment.

First Response Orthopaedic Group

Unique to the Fracture Care Center is the First Response Orthopaedic Group. This team of physician assistants is unrivaled in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. Think of these team members as the FCC’s “First Responders,” providing crucial and immediate initial medical care and treatment to patients who come through the emergency room and office.

J. Dean Cole, MD, the Fracture Care Center’s Medical Director and a world-renowned orthopaedic pioneer, established the First Response Orthopaedic Group in 2004. The group’s mission is to provide coverage for all orthopaedic injuries -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide the highest quality care to patients of all ages. The model for the provision of these expert orthopaedic services is due in no small part to Dr. Cole’s emphasis of “Comprehensive Care.”

Organization & Training

Dr. Cole and his surgical colleagues oversee all the actions of this team. The typical First Response Orthopaedic Group patient has some type of emergent, complex orthopaedic trauma, including injuries, deformities and conditions affecting the hands, wrists, ankles, heels, and shoulders.  These “First Responders” enable our patients to receive the highest level of expertise immediately as their needs arise. This 24/7 access to our elite group of orthopaedic practitioners is truly unique to the Fracture Care Center.

The First Response Orthopaedic Group consists of a team of full-time physician assistants (PA’s) providing 24/7 coverage. These individuals work daily, whether in the hospital, operating room, or the office/clinic setting. These PA’s are qualified and trained by Dr. Cole and his colleagues to cover every need; they rotate from the OR (as “Surgical First Assist”) to the inpatient setting (providing emergency treatments and floor consults/follow-up), to the office setting. 

Besides delivering timely and effective medical treatment, this team assists FCC physicians with orthopaedic procedures. All First Response Orthopaedic Group members possess extensive orthopaedic training and are uniquely qualified to treat related traumas and injuries. Click here for the First Response Orthopaedic Group's individual biographies.