About East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics
Quality Care. Close to Home.
East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics (ECUC) was founded with a simple goal: make high-quality medical and orthopedic care more accessible to the local community.
We believe getting the right care shouldn't require multiple appointments at multiple locations. That's why ECUC was designed around a one-stop approach to urgent and musculoskeletal care, bringing medical evaluation, orthopedic expertise, X-ray, diagnostic ultrasound, laboratory testing, splinting, bracing, and in-office procedures together in one convenient location.
Whether you're sick, injured, need a physical, or simply aren't sure where to start, our goal is to help you get answers and determine the right next step.
Physician-Owned. Community-Focused.
East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics is locally owned and physician-led by Ian Thomas, MD, a sports medicine physician and orthopedic interventionist who founded ECUC after returning to Michigan.
Dr. Thomas's training spans primary care, sports medicine, diagnostic ultrasound, interventional orthopedics, regenerative medicine, and strength and conditioning and includes sub-specialty training Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital.
That combination helped shape the concept behind ECUC: bring more of the tools used in advanced musculoskeletal medicine into an accessible community setting.
More Than an Urgent Care
Traditional urgent care is excellent at treating many common illnesses and minor injuries. But musculoskeletal problems often require more.
ECUC was built to bridge the gap between urgent care and orthopedic care.
Patients with a painful knee, injured ankle, shoulder problem, suspected fracture, or other musculoskeletal concern can be evaluated in the same facility where we have access to digital X-ray and diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound. When appropriate, we can also provide splinting, bracing, ultrasound-guided procedures, and other treatments without sending patients from office to office.
That means fewer stops, fewer delays, and a more coordinated approach to figuring out what is wrong and what to do next.
Meet Dr. Ian Thomas
Teaching & Leadership
Dr. Thomas teaches point-of-care ultrasound to physicians nationally and internationally. His professional leadership has included serving as Chair of the Ultrasound Assessment Council for Inteleos, Lead Instructor for the Global Ultrasound Institute, and an Ad Hoc Instructor for the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine.
He has contributed to medical textbooks in sports medicine and point-of-care ultrasonography and has been recognized nationally for both graduate medical education and physician leadership.
He received the American Academy of Family Physicians Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education and first-place recognition through the AAFP Emerging Leaders Institute for his work developing ultrasound education. His ultrasound curriculum work expanded beyond his residency to academic institutions internationally and included fundraising to support ultrasound education for the Family Medicine Residency in Malawi.
Dr. Thomas is the owner of East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics and Thomas Sports and Regenerative Orthopedics.
His clinical interests include injury prevention, biomechanics, diagnostic ultrasonography, sports medicine, regenerative medicine, and minimally invasive interventional orthopedic procedures. His experience includes caring for athletes across collegiate and professional sports as well as elite ice skaters, ballet dancers, gymnasts, and other performing arts athletes.
Before becoming a physician, Dr. Thomas spent more than a decade in coaching, strength and conditioning, and men's artistic gymnastics. That experience continues to influence how he approaches injury, movement, rehabilitation, and helping patients return to the activities that matter to them.
All in One Place
Urgent Care
Evaluation and treatment of common illnesses, minor injuries, wounds, and other acute medical concerns.
Procedures & Treatment
Laceration repair, splinting and bracing, cryotherapy, ultrasound-guided procedures, and other office-based treatments.
Orthopedic & Injury Care
Evaluation of fractures, sprains, joint injuries, muscle and tendon problems, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
On-Site Diagnostics
Evaluation and treatment of common illnesses, minor injuries, wounds, and other acute medical concerns.
Specialty Treatments
Access to services such as shockwave therapy and Scrambler Therapy for selected conditions.
Two Practices. One Commitment to Better Musculoskeletal Care.
East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics
Accessible, walk-in and scheduled community care. No referral required.
Thomas Sports & Regenerative Orthopedics is Dr. Thomas's specialty practice for more complex musculoskeletal conditions, sports medicine, diagnostic ultrasound, regenerative medicine, chronic pain, and advanced minimally invasive procedures.
The practice emphasizes diagnostic precision and individualized treatment rather than starting with a particular procedure.
Best for: persistent or complex orthopedic problems, sports injuries, regenerative medicine, advanced diagnostic ultrasound, and minimally invasive interventional orthopedic procedures.
East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics is designed for acute illness, injuries, orthopedic concerns, physicals, testing, diagnostics, and office-based procedures. It provides an accessible starting point when you need care or aren't sure exactly what you need.
Best for: urgent illness, new injuries, fractures and sprains, X-rays, diagnostic ultrasound, lacerations, physicals, testing, and common office procedures.
Thomas Sports & Regenerative Orthopedics
Specialized musculoskeletal and interventional orthopedic care. Referral required.
Our Commitment to Battle Creek
Better Access. More Answers. Fewer Stops.
Healthcare can be complicated. Getting an X-ray shouldn't require one appointment, getting an orthopedic opinion another, and receiving treatment yet another.
We're working to make that experience simpler.
By bringing urgent care, orthopedic evaluation, diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, testing, and office-based treatments together, ECUC aims to provide Battle Creek and the surrounding communities with a place where patients can start with a problem and leave with a plan.
We won't always be the final destination. When a condition requires emergency care, surgery, or another specialist, we'll help identify that need and direct patients appropriately.
Our goal is not to provide every treatment.
Our goal is to help every patient get to the right treatment.
East Columbia Urgent Care & Orthopedics
1250 E. Columbia Ave., Battle Creek, MI
Phone (269) 883-6052, Option 1 Fax (877) 796-1484