Providence Medical Center Orthopedic Surgeons

July 1, 2019

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Success for the Patient is the Ultimate Goal

Treating patients doesn’t always involve a scalpel; instead, these top-rated orthopedic surgeons rely on the greatest tools of all: compassion, understanding and empathy.

If you have ever been sidelined by bone, muscle or joint pain, you understand how frustrating and limiting it can be. Pain like this can happen to anyone at any age, whether from illness or injury. Fortunately, the orthopedic surgeons at Providence Medical Center are ready to go to bat for you as they enthusiastically devote their time, talent and expertise to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment, both non-surgical and surgical, of those aching joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and bones.

These highly-trained orthopedic specialists understand how important your quality of life is to you, and the care they administer with regard to your health is delivered with that understanding at top of mind. The dynamic orthopedic surgical team of Timothy J. Monahan, M.D., Nick Aberle II, M.D. and John N. Vani, M.D., along with Bob Arndt, APRN and Robert Grimes, P.A., embodies a respected atmosphere of expertise, knowledge, professionalism, confidence, humility and compassion, all of which harmonize together to provide the best possible experience and overall outcome for each patient.

Deep-rooted Compassion for Patients and Families

Providence Medical Center has a strong reputation as a leader within the healthcare industry, but it also has something equally as strong: a dedication to the residents of the community it serves. No matter where you find yourself within these trusting walls, you will immediately feel a sense of calm reassurance that you have definitely come to the right place for your health care needs.

Among the outstanding practitioners at this award-winning medical center are the orthopedic specialists. Going the extra mile for patients may seem cliché, but for this team of skilled surgeons, it’s only the beginning of the journey they take for and with their patients. These physicians have a strong and unwavering commitment to the patients and their families. That translates to continually checking on how any treatments are working and keeping the patient and the patient’s family thoroughly informed at all turns. This team also understands not only the physical suffering their patients may be enduring, but also how it may affect them emotionally. Compassion, understanding and empathy are routinely dispensed prescriptions here, and refills are always happily supplied.

A Strong Sense of Community

Providence Medical Center is not just a clinical setting in which procedures, treatments, surgeries, and medications are prescribed. It is a heart-centered facility in which the patient receives the utmost respect from the providers. As with all of the medical specialists here, the orthopedic surgeons have a keen grasp on what it means to respect patients and how that relates to their overall outcome in terms of quality and satisfaction. When patients interact with their doctors, they quickly realize it is a team effort, a partnership in the making, with the top priority being the patient’s overall health and well-being. This is not simply a matter of good intentions, either; it is a lifestyle of practice to which these surgeons are wholly committed. Providence Medical Center is an integral part of the community in which it stands, and the people it serves are like family, friends and neighbors. As a result, the delivery of care continually remains on the highest pedestal.

A Noteworthy Orthopedic Hall of Fame

The constant flow of awards and accolades of which Providence Medical Center and its health care providers are beneficiaries serve as a strong testament to the overall quality of care patients can expect to receive. For two years in a row, Providence has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Best HospitalsTM for Orthopedic Surgery and has been honored with the 2019 America’s 250 Best Hospital AwardTM.

Providence, a member of Prime Healthcare, is recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals for clinical quality and has achieved the Healthgrades 2019 America’s 250 Best Hospitals AwardTM. This distinction places Providence in the top five percent of more than 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for it superior clinical performance as measured by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

Additionally, Providence received Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM, an honor it has achieved for three years in a row, placing the hospital in the top five percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patients safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades. The Medical Center is a member of Prime Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems with 45 hospitals in 14 states. Prime Healthcare has more Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM recipients for four consecutive years (2016-2019) than any other health system in the country.

Of course, it is in large part because of the dedicated medical providers within this community that Providence has set a gold standard in care and is continually recognized for its efforts. The orthopedic surgical team is no exception and continues to uphold the high standards of care for which Providence is known.

TIMOTHY J. MONAHAN, M.D.
Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon
“Practicing what he preaches.”

His bicycle leaned prominently against his office wall this warm spring day, an open testament to the active lifestyle to which Dr. Monahan subscribes and a primary reason why he can easily understand his patients’ desires to quickly return to the activities they enjoy doing. When the weather is cooperative, Dr. Monahan will ride his bike into work, which is a 30-mile round trip endeavor. This Western New York state native developed a love a biking while serving in the United States Navy.

“After college and before medical school, I worked in the nuclear program for the Navy on an ROTC scholarship,” noted Dr. Monahan, who obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from Medical College of Virginia. His residency was with Geisinger Medical Center and he additionally completed the Orthopedic Research of Virginia Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Fellowship. He has worked with sports medicine coverage for the Woodford County School and Midway College in Kentucky and also assisted the University of Pittsburgh physicians with coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins and junior hockey teams during his sports medicine fellowship.

What has endeared Dr. Monahan to his profession, most specifically with the sports medicine aspect, is the challenge to identify a problem and then fix that problem.

“We work to get our patients back to what they want to do relatively quickly,” he said.

Dr. Monahan, a self-described handy-man and “fix-it” guy, comes by his trade naturally and focuses his specialty on shoulders, ligament reconstruction, and knee, hip and shoulder replacements.

“I am essentially a mechanic on people and a problem solver,” he explained. “We help patients sort out what they need in terms of treatment and take a highly-individualized approach with each patient.”

NICHOLAS S. ABERLE II, M.D.
Board-Eligible Orthopedic Surgeon
“Often the best compliments are delivered to
you from someone other than the patient.”

Board-Eligible Orthopedic Surgeon
“Often the best compliments are delivered to
you from someone other than the patient.”

When it comes to determining if a patient is a candidate for surgical intervention, Dr. Aberle subscribes to one unwavering principle: it must be the right surgery at the right time to help the patients quickly or take the necessary approaches to resolve the issue before turning to surgery.

“Surgery is an absolute last resort and is nothing we rush into,” explained Dr. Aberle.

In taking a non-invasive approach initially, Dr. Aberle’s plan of action is clear and concise.

“I enjoy getting people back to the activities they love,” he expressed. “I also enjoy working with a wide variety of patients across the spectrum of life.”

A North Dakota native, Dr. Aberle, an athlete who excelled in hockey and football in high school and who has also enjoyed hiking, skiing and golfing, earned his medical degree from the University of North Dakota and completed his residency in orthopedics at the University of Nebraska. He then completed a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery (his primary specialty) with the University of Colorado, where he also served as the assistant team physician for the University of Colorado Buffalos football team and the Denver University hockey team.

While relying upon a specialized background in orthopedics to guide his approach to each patient, Dr. Aberle puts one tool to extreme use with each and every patient.

“For me, it is all about exercising good judgment and getting to know your patients and what they need, what is best for them,” he indicated.

When he came to Providence four years ago, the appeal of not only the top credentials of the hospital attracted him, but also the comforting sense of community he felt in this area. Providing care for all generations makes Providence feel like home.

“We serve several generations of families at Providence, and this gives it more of a small-town feeling. We really get to know our patients and their families, as we treat a diversity of individuals. We may see one family member for a knee issue, another for a hip problem, and another for a shoulder injury,” Dr. Aberle reflected. “And one of the best compliments we can get is when one of those family members tells us another family member is getting along well after a treatment or surgery.”

JOHN N. VANI, M.D.
Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon
“His family roots run deep in this community.”

There is no doubt Dr. Vani has great passion for what he does. After all, he gets to help people and work with power tools along the way! Well, to be fair, actual surgical instruments are used, but as one who grew up learning how to use power tools, Dr. Vani’s mechanically-inclined mind has been an integral part of his success as an orthopedic surgeon.

“My dad was a welder and worked with his hands,” recalled Dr. Vani, whose past experience using power tools has beautifully translated to his ability to perform meticulous surgeries with ease.

Dr. Vani’s focus is on sports medicine, but he also specializes in the treatment of knee issues, including partial and total knee replacements, knee arthroscopies, and ACL reconstruction. Like his colleagues, his goal for his patients is to get them back to the activities they enjoy the most.

“I love helping people,” he smiled. “It’s so rewarding when someone who had difficulty walking before is able to walk well now”.

Dr. Vani especially enjoys taking care of athletes. He formerly was a team doctor for a minor league professional hockey team in Kansas City and for a minor league baseball team and a minor league pro hockey team in Amarillo, Texas, where he used to have a private practice. It’s a safe bet to say Dr. Vani knows and understands athletes.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and medical degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Vani completed an internship in general surgery at Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans. From there he pursued a fellowship in sports medicine at the Perth Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre in Perth, Western Australia. However, he found his home here in Kansas City, as this is the birthplace of his wife, who was actually born at the former Providence Hospital. The family roots of Dr. Vani’s wife run deep in this community, and that feeling of familial connection is an integral part of his commitment to his practice.

“Nearly every day, I see someone my wife’s family knows or to whom she is related, and in fact her sister is married to Dr. Lee Ludwig, one of the general surgeons here at Providence, so, yes, this hospital truly feels like family to me,” smiled Dr. Vani. “And that is how I approach my patients: I treat them like I would treat any member of my own family.”

Taking the least invasive path towards recovery is always the initial road map for Dr. Vani, and this may include protocols such as physical therapy or cortisol shots.

“If we believe that is what will work best for the patient, then that is the course of treatment we will take,” he indicated. “It’s really simple. We just want to get our patients back to doing what they enjoy the most, pursing the least invasive route first.”

Providence Medical Center Welcomes You Home

The health care providers at Providence know patients have a variety of options when it comes to choosing medical care, but as a hospital that has consistently achieved the best clinical outcomes while constantly raising the bar for the best in care, this award-winning team of experts welcomes you to the family.