Northern California Spine Institute Keeps Backs on Track

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Cutting Edge Facility Uses the Latest, Most Innovative, Minimally Invasive Techniques

The ValleyCare office building at 5725 W. Las Positas Boulevard at Hacienda was established to house state-of-the-art-medical facilities. Evidence of the caliber of talent being attracted to the complex is the Northern California Spine Institute in Suite 200 of the W. Las Positas Boulevard offices. NCSI, which became a part of the Hacienda community in November 2002, provides both surgical and non-surgical treatment of the spine. The institute is integrated with inpatient and outpatient programs that embrace new and advanced technologies to speed the recovery of its patients. Spinal treatments provided by NCSI include minimally invasive spinal surgery, spinal reconstructive surgery, revision surgery, pediatric and adult scoliosis care, treatment of spinal compression fractures, electrodiagnostic consultations, and diagnostic and therapeutic spine injections.

"We moved into our new space in the Hacienda Business Park on November 4th, which gave us more room, more exam rooms, and more accessibility to the patients," says Michelle Smith, chief operating officer for the Northern California Spine Institute. "ValleyCare is going to be moving occupational medicine and physical therapy into this building, which will be very convenient for our patients. They'll have access to many of the services they need in addition to those that we provide." The staff of physicians at NCSI includes James D. Fontaine, MD, an interventional spine specialist; orthopedic spine surgeon Kevin C. Booth MD; and orthopedic spine surgeon Joseph M. Grant MD.

The Northern California Spine Institute was started five years ago by Fontaine, Booth, and Grant to provide the most specialized and modern spine treatments available. NCSI currently has four locations including facilities in San Ramon, Sonora, and Tracy.

The physicians are affiliated with both ValleyCare Medical Center and the San Ramon Regional Medical Center. The Las Positas office encompasses approximately 6,300 square feet. In addition to the three doctors, NCSI's new Pleasanton office will employ 16 people and have the capacity to treat between 60 and 100 patients each day."We get a lot of patients who have been injured on the job, industrial injuries, and worker's compensation cases," Smith says. "Dr. Booth is a scoliosis specialist, so we see some teenagers who require scoliosis surgery as well as a lot of patients who have lower back pain." NCSI is also involved in research projects. In March, the Institute performed surgery involving the first artificial cervical disk of its kind in California. They're also involved in performing the most modern types of microscopic surgery. "What we're trying to do is to remain on the cutting edge and use the latest, most innovative, minimally invasive techniques," Smith says. For patients suffering from back problems, the forward-looking physicians at the Northern California Spine Institute may be just what the doctor ordered.

Photo: (Left to right) Doctors Kevin C. Booth, James D. Fontaine, and Joseph M. Grant are the staff physicians at NCSI.

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