We’d love to introduce you to Dr. Alonzo Sexton, co-founder and orthopedic surgeon at ATL Orthopedics, the first African-American owned and operated orthopedic practice in South Fulton. Discover why he moved to Atlanta and launched his own private practice and why he’s so passionate about his practice.
1. Please share a little bit about your family as a child. Where did you grow up and attend college and medical school?
I was born in a small town in western Illinois called Rock Island, which is about 3 hours west of Chicago. My family moved to North Carolina when I was in high school. I went to Stanford University for undergrad and Emory University for medical school and my orthopedic surgery residency. I completed my fellowship training in Sports Medicine in New York at Lenox Hill Hospital.
2. Please give as much info as you would like about your immediate family here in ATL. My wife, Shenara and I met in medical school. Shenara is a dermatologist. We have two boys (Ty, 17 and Austin, 14). As for Atlanta, I love the diversity, energy and opportunities for African Americans to collaborate and build. We moved here to give our children an opportunity to experience a more diverse and limitless upbringing.
3. What is ATL Orthopedics and what inspired you to launch your own practice?
One of the most important tenets of our practice is that black patients receive better outcomes from black doctors. Of the 31,000 orthopedic surgeons in the country, only 1.9% are African American (which is approximately 600 physicians). Representative care matters.
We are the largest black orthopedic group in the city of Atlanta and we will soon be the largest in the nation.
4. How has the spotlight on racial disparity in healthcare changed the way providers offering medical care?
I see patients in my office every day that tell me stories about how they were treated when they went to see orthopedic surgeons who were not black. They shared with me how they weren’t listened to, how they were made to feel like a drug addict and how their pain and loss of ability to have a good quality of life was diminished and overlooked.
Orthopedics is a specialty that deals with strains, sprains, back pain, knee pain and broken bones. My mission in life is to help my patients find what they have lost in terms of a high quality of life. Patients that come to see us have lost the ability to play sports, work, sleep, travel or even play with their kids. We help people get back to who they want to be. Black patients deserve to have access to people that can help and care for them without having to leave their community.
Visit Dr. Sexton at ATL Orthopedics, 3885 Princeton Lakes Parkway, Bldg 2, Suite 306, Atlanta, GA 30331
Telephone: 404.662.3585
Email: info@atlorthopedics.com
