Post-COVID Conditions: Information for Healthcare Providers

Advocate Health Care Opens New Primary Care Office In Lincolnshire

The new Advocate Medical Group Primary Care office in Lincolnshire features spacious rooms for patient care. Courtesy of Advocate Health Care

Advocate Health Care opened a new ambulatory facility in Lincolnshire on May 28, enabling area residents to receive increased access to primary care.

Located at 255 Parkway Drive Unit 255, the facility offers comprehensive preventive care, such as annual physical exams and vaccinations, diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses and chronic diseases and referrals to specialists if needed.

"Primary care is the first point of contact in health care and our family medicine providers are here to offer high-quality, personalized care," said Matt Primack, president of Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. "We are confident this new location will provide the community with exceptional care close to home."

The Lincolnshire facility is the primary location of two Advocate Medical Group family medicine physicians, Dr. Richard Margolin and Dr. Sweta Nukala, alongside family medicine nurse practitioner Maureen O'Brien. Patients needing specialty procedures, emergency and inpatient care will be able to continue to receive care at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

The office in Lincolnshire is open from 8 a.M. To 5 p.M. Monday through Wednesday and Friday. On Thursdays it is open 8 a.M. To 7 p.M. Additionally, the office is open the second Saturday of the month from 8 a.M. To 12 p.M. To learn more or schedule an appointment at Advocate Medical Group Primary Care – Lincolnshire, call (847) 390-5500.

The Primary Care Physician Shortage Is Real, But This Accelerated Program Combats It.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — News 5 remains committed to Following-Through on the stories impacting you.

We continue to highlight the challenges plaguing the healthcare industry, including overall staffing issues.

The pandemic changed the game and made many reconsider their career paths.

That, coupled with retirements, left a gap and critical need for primary care physicians across the country.

Study finds 1 in 10 US children don't have a primary care doctor

RELATED: Study finds 1 in 10 US children don't have a primary care doctor

New data shows Ohio is projected to be shy of 1,200 primary care physicians by 2025.

That's according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The U.S. Will likely face a physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The Cleveland Clinic is working to bridge the gap.

They partnered with a local university to offer a program that addresses the national shortage of primary care physicians.

The program provides students with an accelerated path to becoming doctors in a shorter window of time.

Officials say we have reached a tipping point in the industry.

Experts say many medical students are choosing specialized fields of medicine where they can make more money and focus on a particular field of care with a smaller patient load vs. Primary care work.

However, these news doctors say this program is improving the situation, sharpening their skills with a hands-on approach.

They hope it encourages others to enter the field.

As Dr. Olga Grech walks the halls of the Cleveland Clinic and works with patients one-on-one, she says there's no better feeling than making a difference in someone's life.

She says aiding a child living with cerebral palsy during her undergraduate career solidified her choice.

It made her realize how important a career as a primary care physician would be for patients across the area.

"Family medicine, I believe, allows me to have that extra touch with the community that maybe I wouldn't have had if I did do a different career or picked a different specialty," Grech, Graduate Transformative Care Continuum, said.

She's part of the first class of students graduating from the Transformative Care Continuum.

It's a collaboration between Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Cleveland Clinic.

The goal is to address the national shortage of primary care physicians head-on—in an accelerated, innovative format.

"You're doing a three-year program. It hasn't been done before, but it actually, I think worked out perfectly. And we were able to be so well trained going into residency," Grech said.

The program is a hands-on, immersive experience.

Instead of students spending the traditional four years in medical school, they spend three years.

They are then given early admittance to family medicine residency programs within the Cleveland Clinic and skip the stress of an agonizing match process.

"I think this type of experiential training really helps them learn faster and really gets that kind of meaningful work and purpose back into their lives and primary care is a huge part of that," Dr. Sandra Snyder, Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Program Director, said.

Students within the Heritage College Cleveland campus started the first-ever cohort back in 2018.

It's team-based, patient-centered care that focuses on a growing population.

They learned the ropes—working as MAs, care coordinators and patient educators.

They conducted research and immersed themselves in the medical field—working directly with healthcare teams in Cleveland.

"So we got a half day, per week seeing patients with one of the attending physicians at our residency site.So not just you know, some random location in the area, it was our residency site that we were going to go to," Dr. Jacob Wolfe, Graduate Transformative Care Continuum, said.

The students studied, completed extensive research projects and worked through the ups and downs of the pandemic.

The graduates say these real-life encounters trained them for the next steps in their careers, and they were better able to understand the communities that needed the most support.

"It allowed me to learn more about social determinants of health, more about Cleveland as a city and what's going on with it health-wise. And actually being able to make projects and changes and get really connected with the different community partners that are in this area was so important," Grech said.

Both Wolfe and Grech will remain within the Cleveland Clinic post-grad—further developing relationships with patients in and out of the exam room.

"So I'm excited to, you know, continue to see patients and hopefully make an impact in their life," Wolfe said.

This first class of students officially graduated on June 30th.

Recruitment efforts are ongoing for future students.

To be a part of the process and enroll in the Transformative Care Continuum—click here.

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

North Country Health Network Will Expand Primary Care Services In Lowville

North Country Family Health Center recently acquired the Lowville Medical Associates building in downtown Lowville.

Jul 01, 2024 —

A healthcare network in Jefferson County is taking over a doctor's office in Lewis County. The North Country Family Health Center acquired the Lowville Medical Associates office earlier this year. 

The North Country Family Health Center is based in Watertown, but it's a network of facilities, with a few primary care offices in the Watertown area and a dental office in Lowville. Overall, the North Country Family Health Center treats about 16,000 patients in Jefferson and Lewis Counties.

April Fallon, the marketing and communications director of the North Country Family Health Center, said Lewis County has a gap in local, primary care. 

"This gap in primary care will allow us to serve, I believe about 2,200 more patients over the long term, and that allows for people who are living in Lewis County not to have to travel for basic primary care services."

Dr. Shereen Palmer and Dr. Steven Lyndaker work at the Lowville Medical Associates office in Lowville, which was recently acquired by the North Country Family Health Center. Photos provided

The building already has two primary care doctors on staff and Fallon says they plan to hire a third doctor and a physician assistant, which will expand their services of both primary care and sports medicine. 

The acquisition of the building was just phase one of the network's expansion in Lewis County. The second phase involves renovating the building. Last week, the North Country Family Health Center was awarded a $549,500 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

"This particular grant allows us to add four exam rooms, a provider office, a nurses station, and a reception area," said Fallon, "so that will better utilize the space in the building primarily for just primary medical services."

The North Country Family Health Center is what's known as a federally qualified health center or an FQHC. That opens it up to federal funding, but it also ties the health center to some strict requirements. For one, FQHCs always have to accept new patients. 

They also have to meet certain accessibility requirements, which Fallon said will be factored into the Lowvile renovation. 

"So things like elevators and front entrances and the addition of new rooms, so we can see new patients— all of that falls under those qualifications that we have to provide as an FQHC."

Federally qualified health centers also have to offer more than just primary care. They have to provide dental and mental health care. Plus, Fallon said they have to treat patients of all ages.

"That's, I would say, the most important takeaway from FQHCs, that it's our responsibility to treat the entire patient. And we treat people zero to 150 [years old] so you're treating the entire family," said Fallon.

The doctor's office in Lowville will stay open throughout the renovations, which are expected to begin in August. 

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