SANTA BARBARA — Cottage Health, in partnership with physicians Christopher Birch, MD; Erin Haggerty, MD; Michael Kenly, MD; Asher Kupperman, MD; Eli Kupperman, MD; Amit Nathani, MD and Amy Wickman, MD, is announcing plans for a new ambulatory surgery center in northern Santa Barbara County.
Upon opening, the new surgery center, which is co-owned by the independent community physicians and Cottage Health, will increase access to convenient, high-quality orthopedic surgical services and pain management. It will serve as a cost-effective point of care for patients throughout the region from Solvang to Paso Robles. The state-of-the-art, 12,000 square-foot center also will be licensed to expand its scope to additional specialties.
The partner physicians in this joint venture are members of ALTA Orthopaedics, an independent medical practice comprised of fellowship-trained surgeons and pain management physicians providing musculoskeletal care to the Santa Barbara community for over 30 years. Its surgeons provide surgical expertise in spine, sports medicine, joint replacement, hand, foot and ankle surgery as well as pain management, with a focus on non-opioid care. ALTA providers currently see patients throughout southern California and the Central Coast, with locations in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Solvang and Oxnard.
“We are excited to partner for this new surgery center to fill a need for the northern Santa Barbara County area to have convenient options for outpatient surgical care that meet our standard for excellence. Healthy communities need to have access to specialists, and sometimes traveling for a surgery far from home can be a barrier for seeking care or achieving optimal patient outcomes,” says Dr. Christopher Birch.
The not-for-profit Cottage Health provides advanced medical care to the Central Coast region. As part of its commitment to connecting communities to convenient and high-quality care, in recent years Cottage Health has established specialty care clinics, Cottage Urgent Care centers, and Cottage Virtual Care, which provides 24/7 access to healthcare in English and Spanish languages.
With expert physicians, state-of-the-art equipment, dedicated anesthesiologists, and post-operative care onsite, the new surgery center in North County will offer a patient experience built around a shared commitment to quality, efficiency, and access.