DOWAGIAC — A new partnership will provide better healthcare to Dowagiac residents, according to one local doctor.

Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists, with six locations across Michigan and Indiana including at Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac, has recently brought on three new partners that will allow the treatment center to better serve patients, according to Dr. Trevor Neal, the original owner and founder of Advanas.

“Now instead of me owning Advanas, I own it along three other doctors,” Neal said. “They are great doctors. … This is really exciting for us.”

The three new partners at Advanas include Dr. Christopher Bussema, Dr. Kathleen Bickle and Dr. Robert Monfore.

All the doctors have worked together for years, which is part of what made the partnership a good fit for Advanas, Neal said.

“We work really well together, and we are really good at collaboration,” Neal said.

The biggest advantage of the partnership for patients is that it will allow Advanas to grow and provide better treatments, something that the business is always striving for, Neal said.

“It’s going to allow us to expand even more and allow us to bring some of the latest treatments for the foot and ankle to the area,” he said. “With the partnership, and because we have multiple locations, we are able to provide more advanced treatments.”

Some of the more advanaced treatments that Advanas offers are often rare to see in smaller, more rural communities such as Dowagiac because the market is too small to justify the cost, Neal said. With the partnership, Advanas will be able to reach more people, which will in turn allow the doctors to use and share more cutting-edge treatments between the practice’s six facilities.

“We are now seeing treatments that are only offered through Advanas,” Neal said. “For some of these treatments, you would have to go very far to get them. Going south, you would have to go to Indianapolis. Going north, you would have to go to Grand Rapids. So, the advantage of having this partnership, we can provide those things locally.”

So far, Neal said the partnership has been going well, which gives him hope for the future of Advanas.

“I think we will continue to provide the best service possible to our patients,” Neal said. “There are big things coming, and we are excited for that.”