Help Dr. Street Serve Her Community!

My name is Kathleen, and I am Dr. Maureen Street's daughter. I’m raising funds to help my mom with start-up costs for her family practice in Elk Rapids, Michigan. Currently, there is minimal access to Primary Care Physicians in the community, and many are completely without access. Raising this money is the only way my mom can provide the people of Elk Rapids and the surrounding community with the quality care they desperately need and deserve.

A Little Background…

Dr. Jim Lawrence, a well-loved and respected physician, served the Elk Rapids community for 40 years. When Dr. Lawrence was ready to retire, he recruited Dr. Street to come to Elk Rapids. That following October (also known as the "dead season," when much of the town has left for warmer climate), Dr. Street was informed that she had 5 weeks to turn the practice around. She had to ensure that she generated enough patient visits to renew her contract, or she would be replaced with a nurse practitioner.

Knowing how vital having a physician to care for the community is, Dr. Street (on her dime) held wellness events at the clinic, ramped up marketing and did everything in her power to bring in more patients and fight for the well-being of the people of Elk Rapids. Her extraordinary efforts worked, generating the numbers to provide the community with continued access to a quality Primary Care Physician.

The community's love for Dr. Street reflects the heartwarming, professional relationships she has created over the last 4 years.

Dr. Street makes extraordinary efforts to ensure her patients are respected and know their physician has their back.

At every clinic she serves, Dr. Street:

Dr. Street has always done what’s necessary to make the "administration" happy, but all she truly wants to do is help her patients get well and feel security and joy while in her presence while they maintain a healthy and fulfilling life.

What happened?

On Wednesday, May 4th, my mom came into work early for a last-minute meeting she was notified of the evening prior. She is exceptionally intuitive and had a bad feeling about this meeting, so I joined her as a witness and support. She was prepared for a full day of seeing patients, and before her first scheduled patient came in, she was told that she was taken off the schedule, and although she would be compensated for the two months remaining on her contract, it would not be renewed.

Mom was told to pack her things and leave immediately. No warning, explanation, respect or honor. And most importantly, no time or way to say goodbye to her patients. Only a simple, formal note of gratitude for her years of service was offered, along with the literal handing of her walking papers.

I was there; the meeting was short, cold and impersonal. Clinic staff was given no proper warning or preparation on what was happening or how to handle the situation. Patients were suddenly left without a Primary Care doctor, scared and confused, not just for themselves and their loved ones who were in her care, but for their doctor, whom they love so dearly.

My mom’s phone was ringing off the hook with people worried about her and desperate for answers. Community members approached me daily, asking what they could do to help my mom with basic needs or legal help and praying for a solution to get her back with her patients as soon as possible.

From the outcry I witnessed daily from the community, it was apparent that her patients were equally devastated, hurt, and at a loss for answers as my mom. I've watched her cry so many tears, thinking about how lost and scared her patients, primarily geriatric and chronically ill, must be. She desperately tried to figure out how to communicate and help them but found it almost impossible while still legally under contract.

My entire life, I've watched my mother put others' needs before hers, giving all of herself to fight for justice and love. Dr. Street has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to wholeheartedly providing Primary Care to the people of each community she has been led to serve throughout her journey in practicing medicine.

What is Dr. Street Doing about it?

The two months my mom was stripped of her ability to provide Primary Care seemed like an eternity to everyone. Due to the resulting lack of medical care in the Elk Rapids community, Dr. Street decided to open "Elk Rapids Wellness" after exhausting every other option for a quick return.

Elk Rapids Wellness Mission Statement:

"To provide outstanding personalized Primary Care to people in the Elk Rapids area. Informing, advising and caring for human beings with joy and honor."

It usually takes a minimum of 18 months to open a Primary Care facility properly. But she couldn’t stomach her patients going through this any longer and gave herself until August 15 to open, only 45 days.

Dr. Trevor Darnell at Torch Chiropractic, Elk Rapids, has joyfully asked Dr. Street to use a part of his space for her new endeavor. But as it stands, she has no equipment, barely any supplies, and minimal funding to embark on an endeavor of this magnitude. It generally takes 6 months for a physician to be credentialed with insurance, so Dr. Street will be using all appointment fees to pay for support staff. She is doing what she does best and trusting that focusing on getting her patients the care they need as her priority will create the necessary avenues for her to provide that care.

For the next 3-6 months, all income generated at Elk Rapids Wellness will cover the cost of equipment, supplies and support staff. Dr. Street will not be receiving any salary.

Please help me show my mom that everything that she has worked so hard to be for others, we can now be for her!

How will your donations help?

The people of Elk Rapids deserve a quality Primary Care Physician! If Dr. Street had the money to do this alone, she wouldn't hesitate. Below you'll find a breakdown of the start-up costs and a list of the basics necessary to run the clinic. Every penny of your donations will go towards the items on the list. Any money leftover will be applied towards a fund for patients with financial hardships who need immediate care.

YOUR DONATIONS ARE THIS COMMUNITY'S LIFELINE TO PRIMARY CARE!

Many Blessings, Gratitude and Appreciation to You,

~Kathleen

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Average Family Practice Physician Annual Budget for full time

(32 hours clinic with 28 hours paperwork= 60 hour week)

$450,000.00 charges generated in billing;

30-40% overhead

20-30% lost to insurance denial and bad debt

30% physician salary

Average minimum start-up costs = $500,000.00

Average time to recover initial start-up costs = 5 years

List of Needs:

Medical Equipment

EKG machine w disposable tabs

Autoclave and cleaning products

Weight Scale (2 vertical grab bars)

Height scale

2 Wall grab bars for scale

One electrical adjustable exam table

Exam table paper

Paper gowns and drapes

Cloth gowns and drapes (Assisted living store on line) Large and XXL adult 20 each

Sphygmomanometers (young child, adult med, L, XL)

Pulsoximeters

Thermometer (oral and temporal)

Otoscope/ophthalmoscope set (with charger, w disposable tips)

Vision test poster

Nebulizer

Nebulizer tubing and masks

Oxygen tank w masks and tubing

Ambu bag

Patient Room

Gloves (non-latex) boxes (medium) w holders

Alcohol wipes

Bandaids

Petroleum packets

Long Q tips

6 sundry glass jar containers

Fox swabs

Speculums ( 3 sizes)

Cytobrushes and spatulas for PAPs

Surgi- Lubricants for speculums

Antibiotic ointment packets

4 x 4 gauze package

Tongue depressors

Paper towels w dispensers

Two Sharps dispensers

One Biohazard trash can

Shelves (two) (36 inch x 48 inch x 18 inch)

Rolling stool x 2

Foot controlled large trash cans (and trash bags)

2 Patient chairs w arms.

Surgical/Procedure Equipment

Ear irrigation kit

Eye irrigation kit

Henry Schein cautery pen

Liquid nitrogen container w pump

Scalpels (11 and 15 blades)

Punch biopsy scalpels ( sizes 2-5)

Suture; 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 vicryl and one gut 3.0

Steri-strips

Surgical glue

Iodoform wound packing strips (½ inch) one jar

Sure site 123 pads

Wound dressings (tegaderm ect)

Sterile 4 x 4’s

Non-adhesive sterile bandages

Paper and surgical tape

Curved Iris (scissors) (2), straight Iris, hemostats x1, tissue forceps (one w teeth and 2 without) Mayo scissors (for cutting suture,) stitch scissors, staple remover

Sterile staple gun x 2

Medicine Cabinet

Afrin

B12 Vials (Cyanocobalamin) 1000 mcg/ml

Silver Sulfadiazine cream 400 gram jar

Liquid diphenhydramine

Silver nitrate sticks

Epinephrine

Lidocaine with and without epinephrine

Hydrogen peroxide

Depo-Provera inj

Ethyl chloride spray (Gebauer’s)

Syringes ( 1ml, 3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml) and 1 ml w attached 35 gauge needles)

and needles ( 22 gauge and 25 gauge) and insulin syringes

Nitro Bid

Aspirin

Toradol

Depo-medrol

Rocephin

Hardware container to hold meds

Oldansetron

Small vials of sterile water (diluent)

Office Equipment

Electronic Medical Records software ($500/month)

Purchase ZOOM account

Laptops

printer/faxer/copier

File cabinets x 3

2 Desks w chairs

2 high shelving units w baskets

Paper

Envelopes

Charge card device (Clover mini)

Stamper

Misc (pens, paper clips, etc)

Clipboards x 6

Paper schedule notebook

Baskets for incoming documents, mail, outgoing documents

2 alphabetical accordion files

Portable phones

2 Easy Erase Annual Calendar for scheduling

Wall chart holder

Space Renovations

Wall in the hallway to bathroom and between office and exam room #2

Lab

Shelving w drawers for Autoclave and other surgical equipment

Other Start-Up Costs

Signage

Mailbox

Credentialing

Hospital Privileging

Business Registration (PLLC and Tax ID)

Electronic Records software installation

Malpractice Insurance

Attorney fees

Practice start-up assistant

Practice start-up printing