Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Fort Collins. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Nick George helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Fort Collins, Colorado.
Is your business serving the residents of Fort Collins? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpFortCollins.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Suite Health: Redefining Outpatient Infusion Care with Kerre Valtierra
Struggling with the maze of healthcare options for chronic treatments? You're not alone. Kerre Valtierra, founder of Suite Health in Loveland, joins us to pull back the curtain on a little-known secret in medical care: you have choices beyond hospital settings for infusion treatments.
Drawing from 25 years in healthcare, Kerre witnessed firsthand the gaps in patient experience that led her to create something revolutionary. Suite Health isn't just another medical facility—it's a complete reimagining of how infusion care should feel. Picture private suites with heated blankets, noise-canceling headphones, entertainment options, and refreshments, all while receiving the exact same physician-prescribed treatments you'd get elsewhere. The kicker? It costs about 40% less than hospital-based alternatives.
The most powerful revelation from our conversation isn't just about comfort—it's about patient autonomy. "At the end of the day, it's your health. You have a voice and you have a choice," Kerre emphasizes. Too many patients simply follow provider instructions without questioning if alternatives exist, often unaware they can choose where to receive their treatments. Suite Health bridges this knowledge gap by working directly with referring physicians and helping patients navigate the sometimes confusing referral process. Whether you're managing an autoimmune condition or another chronic illness requiring regular infusions, knowing all your options can transform your treatment experience.
Ready to explore what patient-centered infusion care looks like? Visit mysuitehealth.com or call 970-315-1891 to learn how Suite Health is changing the healthcare landscape in Northern Colorado. Your better treatment experience is waiting—you just need to know where to look.
Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. Are you in need of a outpatient infusion center that's not affiliated with the hospital? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the great pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Keri Valtierra. Did I say that right, Keri?
Speaker 2:You did yes, thank you.
Speaker 1:Awesome, we're happy to have you on the show. Please tell us all about your outpatient infusion center.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah, so we recently opened, in January. We're an outpatient medical infusion center, located in Loveland, and we're specializing the administration of of IV infusion or injection that are all physician prescribed. So these are drugs that are ordered by providers and we provide them in our center, in our space, as an outpatient option and, you know, really catering to the patient from a from a atmosphere standpoint. We have private suites, semi-private suites, noise canceling, headphones, heated blankets, tvs, tablets, snacks, beverages, you name it. We have it, and we're truly just looking to change the way in which we provide infusion care, trying to provide an elevated experience, if you will.
Speaker 1:Carrie, how did you get into this business?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I've been in healthcare about 25 years. I myself actually started serving meals to residents that were a part of assisted living in a local hospital where I grew up and started there at 15 and you know all the way up to working as a senior director at an academic corporate medical institution institution and quite honestly, you know I've seen a lot of incredible experiences for patients and I've seen a lot of unfortunate, heartbreaking gaps in the healthcare space and for myself personally, and family and friends and at the end of the day, this was an area that I felt had some pretty big gaps in the experience and just thought there has to be something different, there has to be something better for these patients who are chronically ill and frequently getting infusions and injections, and they deserve a different experience.
Speaker 1:What are some myths or misconceptions in your specific niche of helping people in medicine? I'm hoping you're going to say what we talked about before we started recording.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, you know, honestly, I would say patients, patients have a choice, patients have a voice, patients have a choice and you have to keep pushing in this industry and and there are options out there and and part of what I hope to do and part of you know why why we started sweet health was to provide those options out there, and part of what I hope to do and part of you know why we started Sweet Health was to provide those options to patients. You know, I think all too frequently patients, at the end of the day, they just they do what they're told. And if they're told there's no option, or if they're told they have to go here or they have to do this, vast majority of patients are just going to. You know they're going to do that. They're going to do what they're told.
Speaker 2:And there are options. There are options for patients. There are, you know, the ability to not have to go to a hospital, not have to sit in a hospital setting for your infusion care. You can come outpatient and, honestly, outpatient is about 40% more affordable than hospital based care. And you know, don't get me wrong hospitals, obviously they serve a purpose and obviously some of our sickest patients end up in those areas. But you don't have to go to the hospital for these services and there are options. And you know my hope is to really educate the community that you do in fact have a voice and you have a choice. And you know I want to be here to help patients find that.
Speaker 1:We know that marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target customers, and do they know that they need you, and how are you reaching out to them now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's kind of two different routes here. So ultimately we have to have a referral from the provider. So we partner very closely with these referring physicians who have these patients who have these chronic conditions. So we partner with those providers to let them know that there is an outpatient option. You know wait times are much lower outpatient than they might be hospital based services. So we really work with them to get those orders. We at the end of the day have to have that order.
Speaker 2:But the other piece is marketing and partnering with the community. You know, unfortunately, where we are now many everybody seems to know somebody who has an autoimmune condition or know somebody that knows somebody if it's not themselves that has it, and there's a lot of opportunity to help spread that communication throughout the community patients or friends and family that you know you don't have to go to the hospital. So we're kind of working both angles. Even if a patient calls me and they hear about us and they want to move their infusion to us, we still have to have that order from their referring physician. So we help the patient walk through that. You know we're happy to call on behalf of the patient but ultimately we still need that referral. So we do build up and work very closely, building our relationships with those referring.
Speaker 1:Does that give you all the business you need or is there some other preemptive marketing strategy that you have for reaching customers that might not know they have chronic conditions that need your service? Or Are you completely dependent on just? Are you completely happy with just what's coming in from the referrals?
Speaker 2:No, we're definitely trying to expand that marketing piece. You know, I think the marketing is truly endless because patients again do have a voice and they have a choice. The more that we do pursue those levels of marketing, we are seeing a lot of success from that. We certainly. I think the opportunity is kind of endless because there's constantly opportunity out there to get these patients. But more and more we do this because we want the patient to see that there's a different type of experience for them.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure there's so many unique success stories um that that people don't think are possible um for them. And have you ever thought about podcasting to reach people with this?
Speaker 2:I have not. This is actually my first podcast can't tell so, yeah, no, no, um.
Speaker 2:yeah, this is my first go at a podcast, never, never thought about it. I definitely think it is a huge opportunity and, again, like I, have a lot of passion in just wanting patients to have the experiences they deserve, because I've seen some heartbreaking gaps take place and health care is very confusing. Health, I mean navigating health care, whether you're sick or you're helping a family member who's sick. Through the process. It is incredibly confusing and time consuming for a lot and truly we're just here to try to make that difference for the patient.
Speaker 1:I can feel that what do you do for fun outside of helping people this way?
Speaker 2:Well, I, you know, I jumped on that pickleball train.
Speaker 1:You're far too young for that. I said, you're far too young for pickleball.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, it's, it's, there's, no, there's no age on this game. So no, I've gotten into the pickleball craze and outside of that I just truly enjoy the. You know everything that Colorado, the outdoors of Colorado, has to offer.
Speaker 1:Me too.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Carrie. Tell our listeners one thing they should absolutely take away from this interview about Sweet Health and, by the way, that's spelled S-U-I-T-E health for those of you that have a sweet tooth out there and might have misspelled that. Tell us one takeaway that people should have from this interaction, this podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I think again I hate to sound like a broken wheel, but it's truly advocate for yourself. I mean, at the end of the day, it's your health. You have a choice and you can choose whatever path you want, like the providers are going to guide you and you can be a part of that conversation. But it truly is. You have a voice and you have a choice and and there are options for you. And we're excited to bring this to Northern Colorado as an outpatient resource for patients.
Speaker 1:Keri. What are all of the different ways that people can find Sweet Health online, through social media and a phone number?
Speaker 2:Yep, so they can reach us at 970-315-1891 or our website at wwwmysweethelfcom. We're also on Facebook or on LinkedIn, and we're on Instagram as well, under Sweet Health S-U-I-T-E.
Speaker 1:Well, Keri, we really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and Sweet Health the very best moving forward.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.