A Suffolk orthopedic practice that has treated patients across Hampton Roads for more than 40 years now belongs to Bon Secours. The health system acquired Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center, known locally as SMOC, effective Nov. 1, bringing the practice's three locations — including its office at 150 Burnetts Way, Suite 100 in Suffolk — under the Bon Secours banner.
SMOC was founded in 1984 and has served patients in Suffolk, Chesapeake and surrounding Hampton Roads communities ever since, according to The Suffolk News-Herald. The practice's three locations will be rebranded as Bon Secours Orthopedics and will operate alongside the health system's existing orthopedic providers, the newspaper reports. Bon Secours itself describes the move as expanding its orthopedic network across the region, noting on its website that the acquisition means the “long-established practice” that has “served patients in Chesapeake, Suffolk and communities across the Hampton Roads region for more than four decades” is now part of its system, according to Bon Secours.
Pat Davis-Hagens, market president of Bon Secours Hampton Roads, said SMOC “has earned a trusted reputation and delivered exceptional orthopedic care for more than 40 years,” per the same report from the News-Herald. Davis-Hagens added that combining the two organizations can create “a more connected and seamless patient experience throughout Hampton Roads.”
What Patients Can Expect to Change, and What Stays the Same
Existing SMOC patients can continue seeing their current providers, the News-Herald reports, and will gain access to Bon Secours' broader medical-services network. Patients will also be able to use the MyChart patient portal for scheduling appointments, viewing test results, requesting prescription refills and messaging providers directly, per the same account. Once folded in, Bon Secours patients will have access to diagnostic imaging, orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, outpatient rehabilitation, primary care and specialty care, the paper notes.
SMOC provides orthopedic care, including sports medicine, spine care, joint replacement and pain management, and treats injuries and conditions affecting the arms and legs, according to its about-us page. The practice says it offers “innovative, robotically assisted joint surgeries,” including knee replacement procedures.
A Spine Surgeon's Take on the Partnership
Dr. Bryan Fox, an orthopedic spine surgeon with Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center, framed the deal as a step forward for patients rather than a disruption. The partnership, he said, “This partnership allows us to build on a strong clinical foundation while providing patients with access to a broader network of services, advanced technology and coordinated care,” according to the News-Herald's report. Bon Secours has offered positions to SMOC's care providers and other employees, the paper notes, though the health system has not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Hospital Consolidation
The SMOC deal fits a pattern playing out nationally as hospital systems absorb independent physician practices. At least 47% of physicians were consolidated with hospital systems in 2024, up from less than 30% in 2012, and studies have found such consolidation can increase spending and prices for patients, according to gao.gov. A similar move happened in Kentucky and Indiana last November, when Baptist Health acquired an orthopedic practice and added more than 20 providers across Louisville and New Albany locations, per Becker's Hospital Review. For now, Bon Secours and SMOC's leadership are framing the Hampton Roads deal around continuity of care rather than structural change for patients, with Davis-Hagens and Fox both pointing to coordination and access as the primary goals.
