Deaconess Medical Center has acquired the assets of Spokane Brain and Spine PS, a practice started by neurosurgeon Dr. John Demakas.

Demakas, who has been practicing in Spokane for more than 25 years, now will be a part of the hospital's plan to develop a neurosciences program.

The acquisition became final June 1. Spokane Brain and Spine has a staff of eight people who will remain in the practice's same office, at 801 W. Fifth, with the office now called the Spokane Regional Neuroscience Center, says Julie Holland, a Deaconess spokeswoman.

She says Demakas is on active-staff status at both Deaconess and Valley Hospital & Medical Center, and he is now an employed Deaconess physician.

Deaconess' purchase of Demakas' practice allows the hospital to lay the groundwork for building a neurosciences program, Holland says.

"We'll be moving the Spokane Regional Neuroscience Center to a larger office suite on the Deaconess campus in the fall," she says.

"It will be in the same building but in larger quarters, as we prepare to make room for additional physicians and services in the neurosciences center."

Holland says the hospital doesn't have a timeline for bringing in those additional physicians at this time.

Demakas specializes in adult neurosurgery and Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a noninvasive brain surgery. Demakas says in a Deaconess press release that the new relationship with Deaconess will allow a focus on treating epilepsy and caring for patients who seek treatment for brain tumors, spinal, and neurosurgical conditions.

Through Demakas' affiliation with Deaconess, the Spokane Regional Neuroscience Center has become part of an integrated health-care delivery system that includes Deaconess, Valley Hospital, Rockwood Clinic, and Inland Cardiology Associates.