Rides to One Orthopedics Drive in Peabody

The parking lot is behind the Northshore Mall, next to Lahey Medical Center, and that is where most first time visitors go wrong. Follow the blue H sign and look for the red brick building directly next to the mall with Sports Medicine on the side. Wheelchair transportation is $115 each way or $230 round trip within five miles of one of our offices, then $2 a mile.

What is actually at this address?

Two different things, and the ride you need depends on which one you are going to.

• The surgical center, which runs weekdays from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening. Surgery here is same day, meaning you arrive, have the procedure and go home. Nobody stays the night.
• The physician offices and imaging, on the second floor. X ray, MRI, ultrasound guided injections and nerve conduction studies. Offices run 8 to 5 on weekdays, and imaging runs much longer, from 6 in the morning until midnight.

Why does a 6 in the morning surgery time matter so much?

Because of when you have to leave. A 6 or 7 o'clock surgical arrival means leaving Lynn or Salem around 5, and leaving Woburn or Brockton considerably earlier than that. Family members who volunteer to drive usually volunteer before they have done that arithmetic.

Book the morning ride the day you get the surgery date, not the week before. Early slots fill first, for us and for everybody else.

Can I drive myself home after orthopedic surgery here?

No. If you have sedation or a nerve block you cannot drive and you cannot leave alone, and a same day surgery center has no bed to keep you in while you wait for somebody to appear. The center will want to release you to a named adult.

A hired escort usually satisfies that requirement. Ours is $45 an hour, and the escort goes in with you, waits, takes the discharge instructions and gets you home. If you want the whole thing in one booking, the escort and the ride are separate lines and we will quote both before the day.

Why not just take a sedan or a rideshare?

After a knee, a hip or an ankle, the problem is the seat height and the leg that will not bend. Getting into a low sedan with a knee immobilizer, in a parking lot, on one leg, is where people get hurt on the way home from a successful operation. A van with a ramp means you stay seated and nobody lifts you.

It also means the equipment comes with you. Crutches, a walker, a knee scooter, a brace and a cooling unit do not fit in a sedan trunk alongside a passenger who cannot bend.

Who drives me home from an MRI at 10 at night?

This is the overlooked one. Imaging here runs until midnight, which is genuinely useful if you work days, and the late slots are often the only ones available quickly. They are also the hardest rides to arrange, because the senior van stopped running at 4 and the family member who offered is asleep.

We schedule evening pickups. Tell us the appointment time and we will tell you honestly whether we can cover it, rather than confirming and leaving you in a lobby.

The offices are on the second floor. Is there a problem?

Not at the building, but ask about your own trip. If you use a wheelchair, our driver takes you inside and up, not to the curb. Door through door is how we do every appointment, and on a second floor office that is the part that actually matters.

The stairs that are more likely to beat you are the ones at home. If there are front steps or an upstairs bedroom and you are coming home non weight bearing, two trained staff with a motorized stair chair is $200 a visit, and it can be booked for the same appointment as the ride.

What should we tell you when booking?

• Which part of the building, the surgical center or the second floor offices.
• Arrival time, and whether it is a surgery or an appointment.
• Whether you will be weight bearing afterward, if anybody has told you.
• Whether you stay in a wheelchair or transfer to a seat.
• What equipment is coming home with you.
• Steps at your house, how many, and whether the staircase turns.

For a surgery, give us an estimated discharge time and expect it to move. We hold the slot and adjust, because the recovery room decides when you leave, not the schedule.

Is there anything cheaper to try first?

Yes, and you should. Call the Council on Aging in your town, because many North Shore communities run free or low cost medical rides for seniors. The catch is that they are usually curb to curb, run weekday daytime hours only, and often need a week or more of notice, so they fit a Wednesday afternoon injection appointment much better than a 6 in the morning surgery or a 10 at night MRI. If you are on MassHealth, ask about a PT-1 for a non emergency medical ride.

Where do you cover?

Peabody and the North Shore are a normal run for us from our Woburn office, and we also serve eastern and central Massachusetts from Brockton and Springfield. Call 781-957-8076 with the appointment time and your address and we will quote the ride on the call.

We are not affiliated with Sports Medicine North or the Orthopedic Surgical Center of the North Shore. Confirm hours, your arrival time and the facility's own escort requirements with the practice.