New Route 15 building to house local health care providers

SPARTA - Owners of three health-related businesses in Sparta have pooled resources to overcome one of the main difficulties faced by enterprises that seek to expand to meet the growing needs of their clients: lack of available space. Together the three businesses, Skyview Orthopedics, Integrated Health Professionals, and Health and Body, have purchased land to build a new professional building with a total of 16,000 square feet amongst them. The town has approved the plan for the new building that will be located at the corner of Wilson Dr. and Rte. 15. It is expected to be completed by Maltese Developers within one year. The project represents a rare alliance among diverse disciplines. Skyview is an orthopedic surgery practice headed by Dr. John Vitolo. Integrated is the physical medicine division of Sparta Medical Associates, led by Dr. Gary Mascilak, director of physical therapy, and Dr. Tom DeGasperis, director of the chiropractic division. Health and Body, owned by John Wilkens and Steve Crane, is a fitness center. Orthopedics, physical therapy, chiropractic services and physical trainers all under one roof is like one-stop shopping for those with musculoskeletal injuries. “Orthopedic patients generally need physical therapy, so this set up will be much easier for our clients,” commented Dr. Vitolo. “It works for all of us to have the services right there.” A 4,000 square-foot gym is expected to be a part of this new professional building, which will be a shared space for Health and Body and Integrated. The new gym will offer a better opportunity for Integrated to put its philosophies to work, said Dr. Mascilak, noting that the practice takes a whole-body, multi-disciplinary approach to wellness. “If someone comes in with a hurt ankle, we may offer abdominal exercises,” he explained. “If a client comes in with an injured shoulder, we won’t give isolated shoulder exercises, but we’ll look at the cause. Our understanding and focus on biomechanics allows us to identify the cause of the patient’s pain rather than chasing simply only the symptomatic links in the chain. This integrative approach allows for a more functional rehab and subsequent faster recovery.” The gym will offer the ability to functionally and efficiently train entire muscle groups rather than isolating individual muscles, which coincides nicely with Integrated’s philosophy as well as with recent advances in fitness training. The extra space at the new gym will also allow Health and Body to greatly expand its services. They will continue to offer speed, strength, athletic and senior training, however, the new gym will allow Health and Body to offer full gym services for up to 1,000 members. It will feature an expanded track, classes such as aerobics and Pilates, babysitting services, a locker room with showers, and a lounge area that includes Internet hook- up, coffee, and protein smoothies. “We are very excited about what we can offer our clients in our new location,” said Wilkens. “This location ties all of the communities we’re involved with together with easier access.” In addition to Sparta, Health and Body draws clients from Walkill, Newton and High Point. The planned location for the new building seemed logical for the owners. The land had been designated for economic development and the building will be on a main road. “It will be centrally located within Sussex County, with Vernon and Rte. 94 being right there,” said Dr. Vitolo. “It is a well-traveled road and the location gives us many options to grow,” added Dr. Mascilak. The building is being placed on the property with a new road in mind. The light at Wilson Dr. and Rte. 15 will be eliminated. Wilson will continue with a slight bend onto White Lake Rd. This leaves only one light near its current location, at the corner of White Lake Rd. and Rte. 15. With only one light, the flow of traffic on Rte. 15 will continue at a faster pace. “This is going to be huge,” said David Troast, township planner. “This intersection is the single most dangerous intersection in the county. Correcting this intersection has been in the master plan since 1997. We just received funding from the state, so the road should be completed in about a year.” With hope of attracting another diagnostic service, one suite is still available for rent on the second floor, boasting 4,000 square-feet of space.