Help to Keep Bent Tree Family Physicians Open
Donation protected
My family and I have been patients at Bent Tree Family Physicians for many years, and this fundraiser will 100% support Bent Tree Family Physicians and help them keep their doors open. As a private family medical practice for the past 32 years, this north Dallas practice has been hit incredibly hard by the financial repercussions of Covid-19.
Dr. Guy Culpepper has given his permission for this fundraiser, and he and his entire staff are incredibly grateful for any help that we are able to provide. I am in contact with Sarah Gagliano, physician's assistant, on a daily basis and am providing updates on funds raised as well as sharing a list of donors.
The short version: Bent Tree was denied a loan from the CARES Act because government funds ran out. The funds would have provided the paycheck protection program (PPP) and kept these critically important frontline medical workers and support staff working and caring for our community. As a result of the denied PPP loan, the office was forced to furlough more than half of their employees and significantly reduce the pay of the staff that is now working part-time. Bent Tree has now been forced to significantly reduce their services to our community and it's us, their patients and our families, who will be impacted.
How the funds will be used:
1. To keep the office open and continue caring for their 25,000 patients, not just for Covid-19, but for all of their other medical needs. (The fundraising goal will keep both the Dallas and Frisco offices open for the next 2-3 weeks, at which time they are hopeful they will be granted a small business loan and we will stop the fundraising.)
2. To bring back the furloughed medical assistants and front office staff. (The physicians and physician assistants in the practice are working part time with significantly reduced pay, just so they can keep the office open with a limited staff.)
3. I am organizing the fundraiser, but only Michelle Miller, Dr. Culpepper's office manager will have access to the funds raised. Dr. Culpepper, as well as Sarah Gagliano, PA, are being kept in the loop of this entire campaign and they are updating the Bent Tree team.
Here's the full story, most of which has been taken from Dr. Culpepper's Facebook updates:
To protect patients at Bent Tree Family Physicians from exposure to Covid-19, the practice was one of the first medical practices to support social isolation. They cancelled and rescheduled almost all preventive care and routine office visits during the past four weeks, per national guidelines. Yet the doctors, physician assistants, medical assistants, nurses and support staff remained at the office into the late night for phone calls, which doubled, and to return messages and follow up with patients. They were also one of the very few offices that offered drive-through Covid-19 testing following CDC criteria, not to mention they still had patients with non-Covid-19 issues that needed to be seen.
Dr. Culpepper and his staff knew that cancelling the preventive care and routine visits would cause their revenue to drop, but it was the right thing to do. They billed for Telehealth which helped them a little, but not nearly enough to keep the doors open. As a full service office that provides lab, xrays, stress echo, ultrasound, vaccines, etc., they have expensive infrastructure costs. And as family doctors, they have a very slim profit margin.
Dr. Culpepper believed that Bent Tree would be receiving a loan from the government CARES program, so they kept working as hard as ever, actually much harder. Their phone calls overflowed with non-billable patient questions and problems, they returned calls 24 hours a day and prevented hundreds of people from going to the ER, whether it was from Covid-19 symptoms or other medical issues. The medical team at Bent Tree Family Physicians played a significant role in flattening the curve.
But the loan from the CARES program didn't come through. Bent Tree applied for the loan properly and on time at their long time bank, BB&T.
But the $350 Billion dollars of small business loans went too quickly. And like many other small businesses that were shut out, Bent Tree Family Physicians now faced a dire situation. Dr. Culpepper and his team prepared for this financially, but the two months that they estimated wasn't long enough and the money to pay the employees ran out.
The entire staff wanted to keep working, but Bent Tree was facing the inevitable -- unable to make payroll. On Monday, April 20, the majority of the staff at both the Frisco and Dallas offices were furloughed. In order to keep serving the community the best they can, about half of the team will now be working part-time at much lower pay. They have already announced that patient care will be delayed, and many call backs will take days.
Dr. Culpepper and his team are praying for a second chance at a small business loan in the next few weeks.
I realize that many in the community have also been personally impacted by Covid-19 through illness, loss of a job or reduced pay. I can tell you that making the decision to allow for a fundraising campaign was incredibly difficult for Dr. Culpepper and his team. Not because they don't need the help, but because they didn't want to ask.
The physicians, physician assistants, nurses and everyone at Bent Tree have cared for our everyday aches and pains, diagnosed and treated life-threatening illnesses and diseases, and saved so many lives. They've treated us like family for 32 years. Every donation will help, no matter how big or small.
They have been there for us, and now they need us to be there for them.
__________________________________________________________________________
"We will rebuild our practice, but it will be different, just as all of America will be different. There are a couple of things that I’m confident will remain the same. Our patients need us. And we’ve dedicated our lives to serving them." Guy L. Culpepper, M.D.
_________________________________________________________________________
Press Coverage:
Dallas Morning News April 12
Dallas Morning News April 20
NBC5DFW April 20
Bent Tree Family Physicians Website
Dr. Guy Culpepper has given his permission for this fundraiser, and he and his entire staff are incredibly grateful for any help that we are able to provide. I am in contact with Sarah Gagliano, physician's assistant, on a daily basis and am providing updates on funds raised as well as sharing a list of donors.
The short version: Bent Tree was denied a loan from the CARES Act because government funds ran out. The funds would have provided the paycheck protection program (PPP) and kept these critically important frontline medical workers and support staff working and caring for our community. As a result of the denied PPP loan, the office was forced to furlough more than half of their employees and significantly reduce the pay of the staff that is now working part-time. Bent Tree has now been forced to significantly reduce their services to our community and it's us, their patients and our families, who will be impacted.
How the funds will be used:
1. To keep the office open and continue caring for their 25,000 patients, not just for Covid-19, but for all of their other medical needs. (The fundraising goal will keep both the Dallas and Frisco offices open for the next 2-3 weeks, at which time they are hopeful they will be granted a small business loan and we will stop the fundraising.)
2. To bring back the furloughed medical assistants and front office staff. (The physicians and physician assistants in the practice are working part time with significantly reduced pay, just so they can keep the office open with a limited staff.)
3. I am organizing the fundraiser, but only Michelle Miller, Dr. Culpepper's office manager will have access to the funds raised. Dr. Culpepper, as well as Sarah Gagliano, PA, are being kept in the loop of this entire campaign and they are updating the Bent Tree team.
Here's the full story, most of which has been taken from Dr. Culpepper's Facebook updates:
To protect patients at Bent Tree Family Physicians from exposure to Covid-19, the practice was one of the first medical practices to support social isolation. They cancelled and rescheduled almost all preventive care and routine office visits during the past four weeks, per national guidelines. Yet the doctors, physician assistants, medical assistants, nurses and support staff remained at the office into the late night for phone calls, which doubled, and to return messages and follow up with patients. They were also one of the very few offices that offered drive-through Covid-19 testing following CDC criteria, not to mention they still had patients with non-Covid-19 issues that needed to be seen.
Dr. Culpepper and his staff knew that cancelling the preventive care and routine visits would cause their revenue to drop, but it was the right thing to do. They billed for Telehealth which helped them a little, but not nearly enough to keep the doors open. As a full service office that provides lab, xrays, stress echo, ultrasound, vaccines, etc., they have expensive infrastructure costs. And as family doctors, they have a very slim profit margin.
Dr. Culpepper believed that Bent Tree would be receiving a loan from the government CARES program, so they kept working as hard as ever, actually much harder. Their phone calls overflowed with non-billable patient questions and problems, they returned calls 24 hours a day and prevented hundreds of people from going to the ER, whether it was from Covid-19 symptoms or other medical issues. The medical team at Bent Tree Family Physicians played a significant role in flattening the curve.
But the loan from the CARES program didn't come through. Bent Tree applied for the loan properly and on time at their long time bank, BB&T.
But the $350 Billion dollars of small business loans went too quickly. And like many other small businesses that were shut out, Bent Tree Family Physicians now faced a dire situation. Dr. Culpepper and his team prepared for this financially, but the two months that they estimated wasn't long enough and the money to pay the employees ran out.
The entire staff wanted to keep working, but Bent Tree was facing the inevitable -- unable to make payroll. On Monday, April 20, the majority of the staff at both the Frisco and Dallas offices were furloughed. In order to keep serving the community the best they can, about half of the team will now be working part-time at much lower pay. They have already announced that patient care will be delayed, and many call backs will take days.
Dr. Culpepper and his team are praying for a second chance at a small business loan in the next few weeks.
I realize that many in the community have also been personally impacted by Covid-19 through illness, loss of a job or reduced pay. I can tell you that making the decision to allow for a fundraising campaign was incredibly difficult for Dr. Culpepper and his team. Not because they don't need the help, but because they didn't want to ask.
The physicians, physician assistants, nurses and everyone at Bent Tree have cared for our everyday aches and pains, diagnosed and treated life-threatening illnesses and diseases, and saved so many lives. They've treated us like family for 32 years. Every donation will help, no matter how big or small.
They have been there for us, and now they need us to be there for them.
__________________________________________________________________________
"We will rebuild our practice, but it will be different, just as all of America will be different. There are a couple of things that I’m confident will remain the same. Our patients need us. And we’ve dedicated our lives to serving them." Guy L. Culpepper, M.D.
_________________________________________________________________________
Press Coverage:
Dallas Morning News April 12
Dallas Morning News April 20
NBC5DFW April 20
Bent Tree Family Physicians Website
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Freshwater
Organizer
Frisco, TX
Bent Tree Family Physicians
Beneficiary