By JOYANNA LOVE/Senior Staff Writer

CLANTON — Orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Worthen returned an office of his practice to Clanton on Friday.

Worthen is a part of St. Vincent’s Orthopedics and had a satellite office in the old Clanton hospital.

“When I started my practice in Birmingham, I wanted to have a satellite campus here,” Worthen said.

He said this was similar to the type of practice he had worked with during his sports medicine fellowship.

When the hospital in Chilton County closed, so did Worthen’s Clanton office. Many Clanton patients drove to his Birmingham St. Vincent’s Orthopedics office to continue receiving care.

Worthen’s new office is located in the outpatient services section of the St. Vincent’s Chilton. Worthen said he is glad for the opportunity “to serve a community that I continued to treat in Birmingham but that were driving a long way to see me” by having a second office.

The first patient to be seen in the new location was Ann Taddicken. She said she was glad to have Worthen back in Clanton because he is a “wonderful doctor.”

Both offices are a part of St. Vincent’s, which Worthen said helps keep things running smoothly.

“It’s making things much easier,” Worthen said.

Communication between the two offices is one major component that is benefited by both offices being in the same health system.

During the new Clanton’s office first day in operation, they saw 19 patients. Starting out, Worthen will be at the Clanton office each Friday. There are future plans to make this more frequent as patient demand increases.

Worthen graduated from University of Alabama School of Medicine

at Birmingham and completed a sports medicine fellowship at the Taos Orthopedic Institute in Taos, New Mexico.

Worthen has been in practice for six years. He specializes in shoulders, knees and sport injuries.

He is married and has four children.