Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Dr. Audra Busenlehner and Caroline Johnson: Transforming Senior Healthcare with VIP Care in Tuscaloosa
Discover how preventative care can revolutionize healthcare for seniors with our special guests, Dr. Audra Busenlehner and Caroline Johnson from VIP Care in Tuscaloosa. This episode is packed with insights into VIP Care's innovative approach to geriatric-based primary care. Dr. B and Caroline discuss their dedication to preventing illnesses before they start, focusing on routine follow-ups and a hands-on approach that truly cares for the elderly. We explore the implementation of telehealth services, a game-changer for continuous care, especially for those in rural areas who can now access medical consultations without leaving their homes.
What sets VIP Care apart is their compassionate, patient-centered ethos. Dr. B shares poignant stories of the relationships she has built with her patients, emphasizing the importance of accessibility and a comfortable environment. Say goodbye to frustrating automated phone systems - VIP Care ensures seniors feel heard and supported. Whether you’re a senior or a caregiver, you’ll learn how to make healthcare a positive and engaging experience. Tune in to hear about the extraordinary work being done at VIP Care and how they are transforming senior healthcare.
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This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Patricia Blondheim, and today we have Caroline Johnson, who's the office manager, and Dr Audra Busenlayer, who is the physician at VIP Care here in Tuscaloosa. Dr A or no, it's not Dr A, it's Dr B. Right, Dr B and Caroline, how are you this morning?
Speaker 3:We're doing all right. How are you doing, Patricia?
Speaker 2:I'm doing fine. If I could just remember what letter I'm going to say out of my mouth. Good heavens, Tell me a little bit about VIP care. It's a whole different model.
Speaker 3:It is. So it is something that's new to the area. So VIP was actually established in 2006. They were first established in Ocala, florida, so that is where they are based out of. So their corporate office is in Florida and so the need for a geriatric-based primary care was obviously accepted very well in Florida. So they have since expanded and moved their way kind of up the North America, so we are lucky to be part of that. We are the only office that is in Central Alabama at this time. But yes, vip care in general is a geriatric based primary care practice, so we really focus on patients ages 65 and up, so we really love our senior citizens. We specialize in Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans and then commercial insurance plans, so our goal really is to keep you as healthy as we possibly can.
Speaker 3:We want to take care of you, but we also want to encourage you to take care of yourself, because the older you get, the more complicated a health history can be. So that is what we're here for to cover all your bases, to hit you from head to toe and take care of you as best that we can and keep you out of the hospital and keep you out of urgent care and, you know, just take care of you. That's our goal here. Dr B, she can go a little bit into explaining that, but that's kind of the basis of it, that it is a geriatric-based primary care.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, dr B. Yes, ma'am, we're going to. We're going to kind of unpack that a little bit, because I think there's a, there's a misconception out there. There are lots of misconceptions about healthcare. One of them is that it's to take care of your health In in. In your case that might be true, but in a lot of cases people are already in the model of care where they go when they're sick. They don't go when they're healthy. Correct, right, that?
Speaker 2:is correct, right. So can you explain how, how VIP care's approach to patient care differs from traditional practices?
Speaker 4:To the best that I can I will try to explain it. Unfortunately, there has been a shift in the way medicine is done. If you think back several years, several years, it was more of your routine physicals and things of that nature. Then we kind of shifted into more of a sick model, and VIP does not like working as a sick model. They want to be more of a preventative, hands-on approach, it before it becomes an issue. Part of that is with routine follow-ups. So one of the things that we do is we probably do see our patients probably more often, especially depending on potential for disease or if we're already in the disease process that we need to kind of work through.
Speaker 4:But the model is called a value-based model. So what we're working is trying to establish care before we get into a more sick role or into more complications. Sometimes that will mean such as if we already are seeing our blood pressure maybe creeping up, maybe we need to start working on that before we reach into medications. If we see that we're at risk for diabetes, we start working on that before we get into high numbers and talking about insulin. So not everything is medicine-based. What we're trying to do is to school ahead, go ahead and know someone and try to get an idea of who they are, what their life is like, the stressors in their life, everything that can complicate their health and work toward a better health.
Speaker 2:So I mean I want to make this personal to the listeners out there, because we, you know, we struggle inside of this this what I think of as a relatively new health paradigm where, if you're sick, you go to the doctor, but mostly a lot of people, when they feel like they're getting sick, they stay away from the doctor. There's a sense of denial about, you know, having to go see the doctor. So, and that is the paradigm you want to bust right.
Speaker 4:Yes, well, there's stress If you are sick or you don't feel well. I mean, the last thing you really want to do is to get up, get ready and go. So we recognize that one of the things that we are implementing is telehealth. That was a problem because actually it was more of an insurance issue, that telehealth really wasn't something that they pushed. Now, after COVID, we realized telehealth was a really great thing, especially for certain populations that are difficult to get to the doctor, rural in particular. So our company has worked and we've been able to secure that and, starting actually this month, we've been able to implement telehealth so that we can see someone if they're not feeling well and they don't feel like coming into the, into the office.
Speaker 4:Now, in saying that, there are some cases that you do need to have someone physically be seen, but in some other cases it's nice just to be able to have a conversation, either through video or telephone, just to kind of see what's going on. And I'm not knocking any other practices. I've been in primary practice and they're tough. You have a lot of pressure to see a lot of people because there's a lot of people who don't have primary care. Your models are based on the fact that you are not reimbursed for what you do, point blank.
Speaker 4:That's getting better, I hope In other ways it's not getting better. So you have to see a lot of people to pay your employees and to keep your building going, and we're lucky that VIP recognizes that in this type of model you need more time. So I don't have that pressure that I have to see 30 people a day. So we are able to be a little bit slower and work with people who need a little more time, and unfortunately some of the other offices don't have that luxury. So that's why I'm not going to say that anybody else is doing anything different.
Speaker 2:Just sometimes they have to move a little faster. There's a misconception out there that once you get sick, when you get older, once you get sick, it's just a. You're just going downhill, right you. Just your health will never bloom again.
Speaker 4:That is true. Right you just your health will never bloom again. That is true. I think that a lot of people do sort of have that, that feeling, and sometimes that is because of going to physicians and not feeling heard or getting some of the, the comfort that you need, for lack of a better word.
Speaker 2:I just have to accept my new normal is with the attitude that I see.
Speaker 4:And that's okay. There's nothing wrong with saying, hey, this is our new normal. But what we may need to do is work on some coping mechanisms to deal with the new normal. We may need a little extra support. We need to also put something back towards you and say, hey, you know, I understand this is going on. But sometimes, you know, if we stay positive, if we stay active, if we are encouraging social interactions, if we need a little home help to come help us at home to get us back on our feet, a little physical therapy, there's things that we can kind of work through. But unfortunately, yes, sometimes there are new normals. I myself have a new normal. I've had bilateral hip replacement. I'm in my fifties. I wasn't planning on having bilateral hip replacement. I cannot get on a roller coaster with my kids anymore. It's okay, that's my new normal, but I can still go and do a few things. We just have to kind of rearrange some of our vacations, it's okay.
Speaker 2:So how does VIP care emphasize preventative care and wellness for patients over 65?
Speaker 4:We have a new program that's come about let's not guess that new, it's been around for several years. We have a new program that's come about several, let's not guess that new, it's been around for several years where Medicare does a wellness program and one of it is called a wellness visit and the wellness visit allows for there to be a period of time to go through a whole bunch of questionnaires that they have come up with to kind of just do good screening. The other thing again is is that again we can see patients quite frequently. So if we need to see someone on a regular basis we can do that to kind of work. We go over medications to make sure we're not doing too many medications. We work with local physical therapists. We we we're working on trying to find a nutritionist. You know we've got several things in process that we're trying to make sure that we have this community resource in our little small town. That's very nice to give better, better options to stay as healthy as we can.
Speaker 2:And I welcome this so much. I think this is a wonderful thing You've got. You've got a lot of expertise there, and you've got a lot of expertise there and I want to know what advice you have for seniors and their families as they navigate their health care options.
Speaker 4:Everyone is so different. I've had this conversation. One 75-year-old is not the same as another 75 year old but in general, one of the best things that you can do for your health in general, especially as we age, is to stay mentally active, physically active and to not not accept that, oh, I'm old, it's no big deal. Sometimes it is a big deal. I think that a lot of times people do kind of get complacent in any age, but as we get older you sort of get to that point of it's just being old, it's no big deal. Well, sometimes it can be, and if you have a concern or a question, then it needs to be discussed, it needs to be addressed.
Speaker 4:You're not bothering anyone. I get that a lot. Whether you want to quote bother your family or bother me, bother somebody. Come on, let's go have a conversation about it. It may not be anything, but it may be something that we can kind of go through. But I think being active mentally, physically, spiritually, whatever is kind of your thing, is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Speaker 2:Well, it sounds like for those floundering in the in the winter of their years, like me, you are a lifeline she is absolutely well.
Speaker 3:Seriously, the reputation that dr b has in this town is just amazing and you don't realize that until you know. We are a new practice. We are starting this particular branch here in tuscaloosa starting from the ground up. You know the patients that have seen her previously years and years ago still remember her. She, she makes an impact on people.
Speaker 4:I'm serious. Well, I've been in, I've been in Tuscaloosa for a while. I love what I do. Um, I feel that you know, for the most part, I have a happy heart. I have my moments. My kids will tell you that, but you know it's, it's what I do. This is this is my, not just my job, it's my calling.
Speaker 3:I I love it that's your jam, dr b yeah, absolutely, and I think that too is what can set us apart from you know, certain like again, we're not knocking anybody else, but that can set us apart because compassion is really, you know, the building block of health care, is just compassion. So even for, you know, a senior citizen or a geriatric patient, to have someone to talk to, to have a support system, just like Dr B said, if you have a problem and you feel like you're bothering someone, you know that is what we're here for. We are that connection. So if you, you know, need to reach out, need to talk to somebody, that's what we're here for. We want you, you know, need to reach out, need to talk to somebody. That that's what we're here for. We want you to call us. We want you to be able to call our office and have somebody answer the phone and you'd be able to speak to someone and not have to go through a phone tree and not have to leave messages.
Speaker 3:We want you to be able to you know, come in and feel comfortable, and you know just you know, just be able to relax and just be able to open up and and not, you know, have a stigma around. I'm in a doctor's office.
Speaker 4:You know, we want it to be a little bit more comfortable. We're pretty laid back. We try to do that on purpose because, you know, I don't like wearing my white coat. I just, you know some things like that, and we are pretty laid back and easy to talk to and we are human. We have our days, we have our moments, we have craziness just like everybody else, and there are days that that phone will not get answered right away, and I get that, but we try. That's the thing is, I think that we try, we really do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I think, at the end of the day, we just really truly care about our patients and we care about what we do and we care about the impact that we make on Tuscaloosa.
Speaker 2:Well, for our listeners out there who who are over 65 or caregivers to loved ones who are over the age of 65 and need someone and want someone to see them and listen to them and deliver the very best care for them, how can these listeners learn more about VIP care and the services that you offer?
Speaker 3:Well, that's a good question, so we do have a website that's available, that is wwwgetvipcarecom.
Speaker 3:So that does give a little bit more information about the standard. We are on social media as well. We do have a VIP care Facebook page. It's not specific to Tuscaloosa but there is a broad VIP care page that does share a lot of really useful information. Anything from you know chronic management advice and you know medication advice, things like that, on what you know what to do, what not to do, things like that, that's very helpful.
Speaker 3:So there is the social media aspect. You're always welcome to call our office, our main phone. That is something that we, you know, like Dr B said, try to answer as best we can and then you know you can always just pop in and see us, can, um, and then you know you can always just pop in and see us. Uh, we are located conveniently off of watermelon road. We are, um, I know there's some some construction going on with the wendixi shopping center, that's. That's close to us, but I think it's going to be in aldi pretty soon.
Speaker 3:But we, we are right, you know pretty much catty corner to that. So really just right off the main road, real convenient, kind of you know, riding the North Port Tuscaloosa line, so easy for patients on either side of the river to come see us. So yeah, that's always. I always welcome that too. I'm usually sitting up at the front desk and we can have a conversation and get to know each other a little bit, and we don't necessarily have an application process. That's not something that we, you know, we want to utilize. We don't feel like we, you know, should get to pick and choose. You choose us, we don't choose you. So you come to us and we welcome you and we want to take care of you.
Speaker 3:So yeah always come in, give us a call or you can you know, go on social media and take a look at things.
Speaker 2:Well, ladies, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing these valuable insights into the unique approach of VIP care. It's been a pleasure learning more about how you're helping seniors navigate their health care journey with confidence and care, with confidence and care and for our listeners. If you'd like to learn more about VIP care or connect with our guests today, you can. You can join through the link which I will have in the description. Caroline and Dr B, it's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much for coming by today.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having us. Thank you, we appreciate it much for coming by today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having us. Thank you, we appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Northport. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpnorthportcom. That's gnpnorthportcom, or call 205-809-4910.