A fresh start off route 30: Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute reopens Schererville Orthopedic Urgent Care

Just past the corner of Route 30 and Indianapolis Boulevard in Schererville, an old medical building just got a facelift, as the Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute welcomes back patients to its newly remodeled Orthopedic Urgent Care.

On Monday, November 2, the Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute Orthopedic Urgent Care reopened its doors to the public — bringing walk-in bone and joint care back to the neighborhood for the first time since July 2025.

Ryan Martini, the physician assistant (PA) who oversees the institute’s orthopedic urgent care locations, is coming up on six years with Lakeshore Bone & Joint, every one of them spent in urgent care. When Martini first joined the team, Portage was the company’s only urgent care. Since then, he has watched the network grow into Crown Point, helped open the doors in Chesterton and Michigan City, and now leads the homecoming in Schererville.

“We can see, treat and evaluate any bodily condition, but the PAs that work with our company specifically chose orthopedics, because that’s where their passion is,” Martini said.

There is no shortage of urgent care in Northwest Indiana, but few can say they were built with bones, joints and muscles in mind. At a general urgent care or emergency room, the focus is on stabilizing patients and sending them on their way, often without answers about what comes next. At Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute’s Orthopedic Urgent Care, patients skip the wait for a specialist appointment and walk out with a diagnosis, a treatment plan and a path forward.

That focus is already turning heads close to home. Athletic trainers from area schools, including Lake Central High School just a couple of miles down the road, have reached out for handouts to share with their student athletes.

“I think just that point-of-care aspect of orthopedics — that if you get injured today, you know where to go, you know where to get seen and evaluated in order to get taken care of appropriately — it’s just a huge benefit to our community,” Martini said.

Walk-in patients are seen by a specialty-trained orthopedic PA who can evaluate, diagnose and treat on the spot, with X-ray available right in the urgent care. If more testing or imaging is needed, the PA orders it that same day, so patients arrive at their follow-up with Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute’s physicians and surgeons with answers already in hand.

Inside, the remodeled building offers more than walk-in care. Specialists rotate through the clinic side throughout the week: pain management on Wednesdays, joint care on Thursdays and sports medicine on Fridays, along with spine and hand teams. Expanded physical therapy space, including private treatment rooms and a dedicated area for hand-certified occupational therapists, is set to come online in the near future.

For now, walk-in hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with plans to expand to full-service hours as word spreads throughout the community.

When it comes to deciding whether an ache is worth the trip, Martini’s answer is simple.

“Anything that worries you is worth coming to get evaluated,” Martini said. “Whether you’re at a sporting event and you twisted your ankle and it’s getting all puffy and swollen, or it’s something that’s been bothering you for a little bit and you’re getting a big flare-up, we’re here for all of it.”

The practice traces its roots to Gary, where Dr. Albin Jahns opened his doors more than 50 years ago, and has since grown into one of the most recognized names in orthopedic care across Northwest Indiana.

That reputation is built on a simple promise: whichever Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute door a patient walks through, they should receive the same level of care. Urgent care PAs train side by side with the institute’s surgeons, and the teaching doesn’t stop there. Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute is grounded in further educational opportunities in house and in the community. The clinic welcomes PA students from Valparaiso University throughout the year, including one who began a four- to five-week rotation on opening day.

“We act as a direct extension of them, and the level of care you expect from our surgeons is what you should be expecting from our urgent care as well,” Martini said. “They don’t cut corners when it comes to that.”

With Schererville back in the lineup, Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute now operates five Orthopedic Urgent Care locations across the Region: Crown Point, Portage, Chesterton, Michigan City and Schererville. The institute is also building out its physical therapy services, with the goal that no matter where you live in Northwest Indiana, high-quality orthopedic care is never far from home.

“The growth doesn’t end now,” Martini said. “We’re always looking to grow, we’re looking to develop, and we’re very excited for the growth and direction we’re going.”

So, whether it’s a Friday night tumble on the field or a nagging knee that just won’t quit, the doors on Route 30 are open and the team inside is ready to get you back out there. Walk in on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 833 W. Lincoln Highway in Schererville, or visit lbji.com to learn more about Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute’s locations and services.

“If you’re injured, if you’re having an ache or a pain, any problems associated with your bones and joints, come find us,” Martini said. “We’re here to help you anytime we can.”

To learn more about Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute, you can visit lbji.com.