Palm Beach Town Council Rejects New Regenerative Medicine Center

Palm Beach Daily News reports that The Palm Beach Town Council has denied a proposal from orthopedic surgeons Dr. John G. Kennedy and Dr. Chris Hodgkins to open RegainMD, a regenerative medicine center, on the ground floor of the Palm Beach Hotel.

The council voted 4-1 on August 13 to reject the variance needed for the planned 1,100-square-foot musculoskeletal clinic in one of the hotel’s eastern-most bays. The main concern cited by council members was approving medical office space at street level in an area with increasing retail development.

“I’m not saying as a community we may or may not need it,” council member Bridget Moran said regarding the proposed medical center, which would have provided non-surgical therapies for musculoskeletal conditions. “I haven’t done any studies. But I’m hesitant to approve the first floor, especially street level on a street that is really experiencing some sort of a revitalization. We’re going to become a bigger town, so we have to keep in mind what we want that town to look like.”

Despite supporting expanded health care options for residents in principle, several council members expressed reluctance about allowing medical office space in this pedestrian-friendly commercial area.

RegainMD was founded by Drs. Hodgkins and Kennedy—Kennedy also runs the Foot and Ankle Center at NYU Langone Health in New York City—both recognized for promoting non-surgical approaches to orthopedic problems.

Hodgkins described RegainMD’s vision as offering treatments such as stem cell and bone marrow injections (procedures using patients’ own cells or tissues), IV energy infusions (intravenous vitamin or supplement treatments), and laser therapies targeted toward tissue regeneration and pain relief.

“We recognize the role of regenerative treatments out there for patients as an alternative to surgery,” Hodgkins said. “We’ve listened to our patients, many of whom are actually from Palm Beach and who want other options apart from surgery. Surgery is very costly in terms of time, pain and suffering.”

The proposal received support from Crampton along with Mayor Danielle Moore; Moore noted that residents were “clamoring” for expanded health care services in town. However, after rejection by majority vote Kennedy and Hodgkins will need to find another site if they wish to open RegainMD locally.

“I think your idea is phenomenal,” council member Julie Araskog told Hodgkins.“Just not there.”Want to keep up on regenerative medicine?

Get the weekly newsletter here.