Statesboro and Bulloch County, along with much of Southeast Georgia, is in the midst of growth unlike anything the area has seen before. With primary catalysts of the new Hyundai Metaplant, the ever-expanding Port of Savannah and a beautiful place to live, more and more people are choosing to move to the region.

And as the population grows, Optim Orthopedics is growing as well, to continue providing the highest quality of care to its patients.

“One of the reasons we were excited about adding new physicians is directly related to the amazing growth that's happening in Southeast Georgia,” said Matt Gemmill, a spokesperson for Optim Orthopedics. “We want to make sure that we're here to accommodate the influx of people, which, naturally and unfortunately, comes with an influx of injuries and ailments. We are always looking at ways to meet the needs of our growing community.”

Optim has grown specifically in Statesboro and Bulloch from providing care in a small office beginning in 1993 to its present-day 22,283-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on Fair Road that opened in 2023. And two of Optim’s newest orthopedic physicians are now seeing patients in Statesboro – Edward Fakhre, MD, an orthopedic spine (neck/back) specialist, and W. Cole Skinner, MD, an orthopedic foot and ankle specialist.

Dr. Fakhre went to medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington. He did his residency at Georgetown University Hospital, followed by a fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh.

Gemmill described Dr. Fakhre as having “lots of compassion.”

“He has a great attitude towards patient care,” Gemmill said. “He has a strong belief that the more informed the patient is, the better the experience, the better the outcomes and the better the treatment paths they can develop together.

“Dr. Fakhre has told me that a patient who walks in the room that's more familiar with what's going on with them, the better it is for him to come up with a treatment plan that works for them and meets their expectations.”

Born and raised in Savannah, Dr. Skinner went to medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He did his residency at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, followed by a fellowship at the Baylor Scott & White Foot and Ankle Institute in Dallas.

In choosing his specialty, Gemmill said Skinner “has a fascination with the mechanics of mobility.”

“There are dozens of bones in each foot, he explained to me.” Gemmill said. “How amazing is it that all these bones work together and how challenging it is to keep them maintained?

“Like Dr. Fakhre, Dr. Skinner really enjoys the patient relationship, the patient/doctor dynamic. He’s very personable, very approachable in having a conversation with his patients to find out what their goals are and to come up with a treatment plan tailored to those goals.”

Improving patient experience

Optim, Gemmill said, is always looking for ways to improve patient experience. He said Optim has invested a lot of time and resources in developing an online scheduling portal that allows people looking for care to find the information they need easily.

“‘How can we craft a better patient journey’ is always top of mind for us,” Gemmill said. “For patients, navigating healthcare seems to get a little more challenging all the time. Whether it's navigating insurance or even where to start to find a physician or get an appointment, we're trying to make it as easy as possible.”

Gemmill said Optim’s physician owned practice focuses on top-notch, fellowship-trained physicians, patient outcomes and experience. We’ve invested in ways to make the access and ease of the journey fit seamlessly into day-to-day life.

“With a few clicks, a patient can find a convenient location of one of our offices for whatever body part is troubling them,” he said. “They can find the next available appointment for a particular physician. And typically, it takes less than 48 hours after you hit that appointment button and you can come in to see a physician.”

From a national perspective, booking a specific orthopedic specialty appointment takes, on average, around 16 days to schedule. Gemmill said Optim was always better than that, but the updated online scheduling portal has reduced wait times for Optim patients to schedule an orthopedic appointment from about nine days to about seven days, and he expects that time frame to drop in the future.

Optim’s digital infrastructure also allows anyone to get live orthopedic guidance and advise 24/7, 365 through their OptimNOW platform, powered by HURT! 

“We’ve strived to find reasonable ways to be accessable around the clock, but it’s a challenge. When we partnered with HURT!, we were able to develop a platform where any patient can connect through our site or download the app to chat directly with a provider, any time or anywhere. Urgent Care isn’t always open and most accidents don’t need ER medical attention. OptimNOW is for those in-between cases when you need to know the best next steps”

Gemmill said Optim looks forward to being a partner with the Statesboro and Bulloch County community as it continues to grow.

“We are excited with our partnerships in Statesboro with Georgia Southern, with Tormenta, the Kiwanis rodeo and many other events,” he said. “And we're really excited to be part of supporting the community even more in the future.”