New Orthopedic CEO Trims $2.5M in Costs at Athens Clinic

Michael Boblitz focused on labor and vendor spend to drive efficiency and lower costs.

Mar. 30, 2026 at 8:50pm

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A photorealistic studio still life featuring a stack of medical charts, a stethoscope, and a pen on a clean, monochromatic background, symbolizing the strategic business decisions and financial oversight required to run a successful orthopedic practice.A thoughtful, data-driven approach to vendor management and labor optimization has enabled an orthopedic practice to trim $2.5 million in costs without compromising patient care.Athens Today

Michael Boblitz, the new CEO of Athens (Ga.) Orthopedic Clinic, has implemented a two-pronged approach to trim $2.5 million in costs at the practice. By closely examining vendor contracts and consolidating redundant labor, Boblitz was able to significantly reduce expenses without impacting patient care.

Why it matters

Orthopedic practices face ongoing pressure from reimbursement challenges and inflation, making it critical for leaders to find ways to operate more efficiently. Boblitz's strategic cost-cutting measures at Athens Orthopedic demonstrate how a data-driven approach can help a large multi-location practice improve its financial strength.

The details

Boblitz identified vendor redundancy and labor inefficiencies as the two biggest areas for potential savings. By renegotiating vendor contracts, switching to lower-cost alternatives, and consolidating redundant roles across the practice's 10 locations and large physical therapy division, Boblitz was able to eliminate $2.5 million in annual costs. Specific changes included transitioning to a new IT partner, joining a national GPO to reduce supply costs, and reorganizing the physical therapy team to serve 8,900 more patients with 32 fewer employees.

  • Boblitz began as CEO of Athens Orthopedic Clinic in 2025.
  • In 2025, the practice served 8,900 more physical therapy patients with 32 fewer employees.

The players

Michael Boblitz

The new CEO of Athens (Ga.) Orthopedic Clinic who implemented strategic cost-cutting measures to trim $2.5 million in expenses.

Athens Orthopedic Clinic

A large orthopedic practice with 10 locations and a wide portfolio of services, including a large physical therapy division.

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What they’re saying

“I looked at all of our vendors, and quickly realized that there's a lot of redundancy in vendors, and a lot of vendors that have been here for many, many years. With vendors, if you don't manage them well, once they get in they never leave. At one point the expense might have made sense, but when I got here, a lot of them didn't. I quickly realized, just through attacking the vendor spend, I eliminated $2.5 million of cost, either through firing vendors that were no longer needed or replacing vendors.”

— Michael Boblitz, CEO

“We have a massive physical therapy division alone that is equal to or larger than some orthopedic private practices. We have 39 therapy providers that took care of 81,000 patients last year, they had a lot of redundancy in services, and it was like they're separate businesses. So I looked at consolidating that. For example they had a different data patient access manager and different front desk team members. We centralized all their services through a very aggressive reorganization to focus on efficiencies and economies. In 2025, we took care of 8,900 more patients with 32 fewer employees.”

— Michael Boblitz, CEO

What’s next

Boblitz plans to continue evaluating the practice's operations and identifying additional opportunities for cost savings and efficiency improvements.

The takeaway

Orthopedic practices facing financial pressures can learn from Boblitz's strategic approach at Athens Orthopedic Clinic, where he was able to trim $2.5 million in costs by carefully analyzing vendor contracts and consolidating redundant labor across the organization's multiple locations and service lines.