OCH Regional Medical Center has expanded its services by opening the OCH Orthopedic Center directed by Chad Williams, DO. to provide comprehensive musculoskeletal healthcare to Starkville and the surrounding communities. Dr. Williams and his staff offer a full range of services in the prevention, diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of skeletal, joint, and muscular injury and disease.

At an early age, Dr. Williams knew he wanted to be a surgeon, and shortly after being exposed to orthopedic surgery in medical school at Kansas City University, he knew he had found his specialty.

“It’s a very rewarding field of medicine to practice in because of the quick turn around on my patients’ pain level. I’m able to see them improve and get back to the day-to-day activities they weren’t able to do prior to surgery,” explained Dr. Williams.

A bulldog at heart, Dr. Williams graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s of science in microbiology. After completing his internship and residency at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Dr. Williams and his wife, Carmen, and their three children moved to Starkville to be closer to their families and hometown of Vardaman.

“This area is home to us, and moving back here allows me the opportunity to give back to the communities I grew up in,” said Dr. Williams. “I want my patients to find the Orthopedic Center warm and inviting and know that my staff and I are here to listen to their concerns and ultimately help restore them to a better quality of life,” he added.

And that’s how Barbara Johns described her experience at her recent visit to the OCH Orthopedic Center. After falling and breaking her arm, Johns scheduled an appointment with Dr. Williams and later underwent surgery on her left wrist at OCH Regional Medical Center.

“I appreciated the fact that he spent so much time with me and spoke in plain language so that I understood what type of surgery and recovery process I would be facing,” said Johns. “He really does have an excellent bedside manner, and that’s important to me because if he’s going to be my doctor, I need to know him, and he needs to know me,” Johns added.

Dr. Williams treats a wide-variety of orthopedic conditions including arthritis, bursitis, tendonitits, carpal tunnel syndrome, ACL, MCL & PCL injuries, tennis elbow, trigger finger, hammer toe, dislocations, broken bones & stress fractures, ganglion cysts, plantar fasciitis, rotator cuff injuries and total joint replacement.

A member of the American Osteopathic Association and the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, Dr. Williams is board-eligible in orthopedics. He is especially interested in anterior hip reconstruction surgery and is one of only a handful of physicians in the Golden Triangle trained to perform it. This technique, known as the muscle-sparing approach, allows him to work between the patients’ muscles and tissues without detaching them from either the hip or thighbones and usually results in a shorter hospital stay, less pain and may also help to prevent dislocations.

The OCH Orthopedic Center is located at 307 Hospital Road in Starkville and is open Monday – Thursday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. – noon. For an appointment with Dr. Williams call (662) 615-3741 or visit och.org for more information.