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VAIL, Colorado — A district judge gave an international orthopedics company the green light to open a surgical training center in Vail.
District Court Judge Mark Thompson struck down a temporary restraining order that had blocked Arthrex from finishing construction of a “wet lab” in Vail's Gateway Plaza.
Arthrex manufactures orthopedic products and trains surgeons to install them, using body parts harvested from human cadavers and sterilized.
The Vail Gateway Plaza Condominium Association asked for and received a temporary restraining order stopping work on the space, just days before it would have been completed. Attorney Charles Lipcon is president of the condo association, and in their lawsuit they asserted the wet lab was not a use compatible with high-end residences and the building's other commercial uses.
In his ruling, Thompson rejected that argument, pointing out that the space was formerly an OB/GYN office and medical office. Thompson pointed to testimony by local orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter Millett saying the Arthrex training lab would be cleaner and safer than a medical practice or a restaurant.
Millett has taught more than 200 Arthrex surgical skills classes over the past 10 years at various locations, including the Steadman Clinic and Vail hotels.
The Vail Gateway Condominium Association's board of directors will decide what they want to do next, Lipcon said. Among their options could be to fine the space's owner for every day Arthrex runs its surgical training center, Lipcon said.
Medical economy
Vail and the rest of the valley has been looking for ways to expand the local economy beyond tourism and real estate/construction, said Margaret Rogers, Vail Town Council member.
It got serious when the bottom fell out of the local real estate market as the recession hit.
“It's not a good position to be so dependent on two revenue drivers of this economy,” Rogers said. “When the real estate market started crashing we started looking for another economic engine.”
They hired a consultant who pointed them toward the medical industry. The local marketing district started looking for ways of bringing those industries to town.
The town was approached by the Vail Valley Medical Center about expanding onto the site west of the municipal complex.
The town is approaching the project like a traditional economic development effort aimed at creating jobs, Rogers said.
Vail is partnering with the Vail Valley Medical Center, the Steadman Clinic, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, Howard Head, and the Vail Valley Surgical Center to create a new 56,000 square foot medical campus on the west side of its municipal complex.
The combined medical businesses already have an economic impact of $100 million a year, generating about a third of the local ski industry's sales tax dollars, according to a study by Ford Frick and BBC Research and Consulting.
“We want to become the orthopedic Silicon Valley,” said Lyon Steadman, CEO of the Steadman Clinic. “We're very blessed. We've been fortunate to be able to attract some of the best physicians around and that helps attract our patient base.”
The Vail Valley is well positioned to reap the economic benefits of the growing industry, Frick said.
“As resort communities mature, health care services will be a critical component of local services, and few areas can compete with the diversity and depth of medical services offered by the Vail Valley Medical Center,” Frick wrote in the economic impact study. “The clinic's operations diversify the local economy, providing market opportunities beyond skiing, real estate and recreation — an enviable market position.”
Orthopedic supply company
Arthrex is one of those businesses attracted to the valley. It's a privately held orthopedic supply company with training facilities around the world where surgeons train for joint surgery.
Surgeons are trained using body parts provided by a medical specialty company. They use joints only, not entire cadavers, the company said.
The frozen specimens are biologically and pathologically clean, and they're kept frozen until the surgeon is ready for them, says a memo from the town of Vail, responding to the condo owners' concerns.
When the surgeon is done, the specimen parts are refrozen, packaged in designated disposal bags, picked up by Stericycle and incinerated at their Dacono facility.
Arthrex has been doing this for years, as one of the companies leasing space from the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
District Court Judge Mark Thompson struck down a temporary restraining order that had blocked Arthrex from finishing construction of a “wet lab” in Vail's Gateway Plaza.
Arthrex manufactures orthopedic products and trains surgeons to install them, using body parts harvested from human cadavers and sterilized.
The Vail Gateway Plaza Condominium Association asked for and received a temporary restraining order stopping work on the space, just days before it would have been completed. Attorney Charles Lipcon is president of the condo association, and in their lawsuit they asserted the wet lab was not a use compatible with high-end residences and the building's other commercial uses.
In his ruling, Thompson rejected that argument, pointing out that the space was formerly an OB/GYN office and medical office. Thompson pointed to testimony by local orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter Millett saying the Arthrex training lab would be cleaner and safer than a medical practice or a restaurant.
Millett has taught more than 200 Arthrex surgical skills classes over the past 10 years at various locations, including the Steadman Clinic and Vail hotels.
The Vail Gateway Condominium Association's board of directors will decide what they want to do next, Lipcon said. Among their options could be to fine the space's owner for every day Arthrex runs its surgical training center, Lipcon said.
Medical economy
Vail and the rest of the valley has been looking for ways to expand the local economy beyond tourism and real estate/construction, said Margaret Rogers, Vail Town Council member.
It got serious when the bottom fell out of the local real estate market as the recession hit.
“It's not a good position to be so dependent on two revenue drivers of this economy,” Rogers said. “When the real estate market started crashing we started looking for another economic engine.”
They hired a consultant who pointed them toward the medical industry. The local marketing district started looking for ways of bringing those industries to town.
The town was approached by the Vail Valley Medical Center about expanding onto the site west of the municipal complex.
The town is approaching the project like a traditional economic development effort aimed at creating jobs, Rogers said.
Vail is partnering with the Vail Valley Medical Center, the Steadman Clinic, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, Howard Head, and the Vail Valley Surgical Center to create a new 56,000 square foot medical campus on the west side of its municipal complex.
The combined medical businesses already have an economic impact of $100 million a year, generating about a third of the local ski industry's sales tax dollars, according to a study by Ford Frick and BBC Research and Consulting.
“We want to become the orthopedic Silicon Valley,” said Lyon Steadman, CEO of the Steadman Clinic. “We're very blessed. We've been fortunate to be able to attract some of the best physicians around and that helps attract our patient base.”
The Vail Valley is well positioned to reap the economic benefits of the growing industry, Frick said.
“As resort communities mature, health care services will be a critical component of local services, and few areas can compete with the diversity and depth of medical services offered by the Vail Valley Medical Center,” Frick wrote in the economic impact study. “The clinic's operations diversify the local economy, providing market opportunities beyond skiing, real estate and recreation — an enviable market position.”
Orthopedic supply company
Arthrex is one of those businesses attracted to the valley. It's a privately held orthopedic supply company with training facilities around the world where surgeons train for joint surgery.
Surgeons are trained using body parts provided by a medical specialty company. They use joints only, not entire cadavers, the company said.
The frozen specimens are biologically and pathologically clean, and they're kept frozen until the surgeon is ready for them, says a memo from the town of Vail, responding to the condo owners' concerns.
When the surgeon is done, the specimen parts are refrozen, packaged in designated disposal bags, picked up by Stericycle and incinerated at their Dacono facility.
Arthrex has been doing this for years, as one of the companies leasing space from the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
