For decades, the medical office building located on the corner of Forest Avenue and Beaver Street has been known simply as the Physician and Surgeons Office Building, or the PSOB. The building was formally renamed NorthStar Medical Offices this month. In addition, the interior and exterior of the building will also soon be undergoing renovations.
Earlier in the year, the physician owners of the building reached out to Shine Creative Industries (dba Julie Sullivan Design), a brand development firm in Flagstaff, to identify a new name that better suited the professionals and services housed in the building. One goal of the name change is to distinguish the providers and the building as a private entity rather than part of the Flagstaff Medical Center.
The group chose NorthStar Medical Offices to encompasses all the health care professionals in the building who provide medical guidance, care, services and resources to Northern Arizona residents and visitors.
“Over the past several years, the health care-related services and offices expanded to include more than physicians and surgeons,” said Andrew Aldridge, M.D., a physician at Flagstaff Surgical Associates and one of the owners of the building. “We are a community of health care professionals and specialists who provide exceptional medical care and health-related services. As a group, we offer several specialties – from pediatrics to radiology to surgeons to a lab and pharmacy. Together, we have the expertise to provide care and offer guidance to those facing medical situations.”
Many of the physicians and health care providers in the building care for hospital patients and are involved in the medical leadership at FMC. However, the building is not owned by the hospital and the physicians and providers are not employed by the hospital or its parent organization, Northern Arizona Healthcare.
When the building was built nearly 40 years ago, the design and hallways connecting the building to the hospital and was intended to look like part of the hospital. At the time, most physicians and surgeons were required to be on call at the hospital much more than they are today. Having their private practice offices adjoining the hospital allowed physicians, surgeons and other health care professionals to easily see patients in their offices and in the hospital. And for the days and nights they were on call, they could stay in their own offices until needed; there was no need to sleep in hospital-provided sleeping rooms.
Through the years, the increase of hospitalists and intensivists (physicians who only care for patients in the hospital) and the addition of more physicians and surgeons in the community meant fewer on-call days and nights. Today, although the proximity to the hospital is convenient, it is not as necessary as in years past and the building houses other professionals besides physicians.
Currently, NorthStar Medical Offices is home to nearly 20 specialized physician practices and medical services and nearly 100 physicians and medical providers, including:
- Arizona Kidney Disease and Hypertension Center
- Disease Management Clinic and Transitions Care Clinic
- Flagstaff Bone and Joint
- Flagstaff Pharmacy
- Flagstaff Surgical Associates – Audiology
- Flagstaff Surgical Associates – ENT
- Flagstaff Surgical Associates – General Surgery
- Flagstaff Surgical Associates – Urology
- Forest Country Anesthesia
- Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Laboratory draw station
- Mountain View Pediatrics
- Northern Arizona Gastroenterology
- Northern Arizona Radiology
Northern Arizona Healthcare department offices include:
- NAH Institutional Review Board
- NAH Office of Research and Research Compliance
NorthStar Medical Offices is just north of Flagstaff Medical Center, at 77 W. Forest Ave., on the corner of Forest Avenue and Beaver Street. For a complete list of physicians, medical providers and services, visit NorthStarMedicalOffices.com. FBN
By Starla S. Collins, FBN
Photo caption: Fresh signage reflects the new name for the Physician and Surgeons Office Building.
