A10 • December 2013
280 Living
Business Spotlight d
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Total Care 280
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38 Doug Baker Blvd
119
By JEFF THOMPSON Earlier this decade, Dr. Amy Bentley Illescas found herself back in Birmingham working for a large medical company. At that point, since graduating from UAB School of Medicine in 2001, she had spent her entire career working in private practices, and her taste for the way care was administered under corporate rule was souring. “I saw the need for continuity in care, where a patient sees the same doctor every time they need something,” she said. So, with the help of her husband, Illescas (pronounced e-JES-kas) set out to build something new on U.S. 280. She envisioned a health care facility where patients could receive complete care from people with whom they built a personal relationship. She found investors to lift Total Care 280 off the ground in 2011, and two years later she believes she’s built a business that is more about family than anything else. “I know every person who comes in, and I remember everything that is done,” Illescas said. “I love being able to tell my patients that they have a gatekeeper and a guardian who wants what’s best for them. I can always look them in the eyes and say, ‘I’ve got this. You’ll be fine because we have it under control.’” Illescas’ confidence is based heavily on the staff at Total Care 280. She leads nine administrative and clinical employees and one nurse practitioner who sees patients in the afternoon. Amongst this crew is Bill King, a 40-year veteran
Total Care 280 nurse practitioner Edda Muya, nurse Dawn Cooper and Dr. Amy Bentley Illescas.
in the medical field who is filling an innovative role in the company. King is Total Care’s patient advocate, a position Illescas created to protect her customers from problems they might encounter in dealing with either new government restrictions or with insurance companies. In his role, King acts as Illescas’ liaison in explaining why certain services have been ordered or pills prescribed, leaving Illescas free to provide care.
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“I don’t know any other practice that does it,” Illescas said. Illescas said King puts Total Care in a position to provide services typically reserved for the affluent. Having a patient concierge is one of the perks of using the company MDVIP, which provides a “personalized health care program” that begins at $1,500 per year according to mdvip.com. “It’s like a timeshare for doctors,” Illescas said. “We’re giving the same level of service,
but you don’t write the check.” But it’s not just the innovations that help Total Care live up to its name. The business is designed to be a “one-stop shop” for those who are ailing. Besides care provided in most private practices, Total Care also offers X-ray services and a moderately complex lab. “Say you come in here and you’ve got two problems — you fell down stairs because you had a terrible sinus headache, and your balance was off,” said Practice Manager Elizabeth Fourie. “So you come in, have an x-ray as well as all the relevant blood work needed to make sure you don’t have strep throat. “Even though you may be here an hour, you’re walking out of here diagnosed and treated. There’s huge value in that.” All that adds up to high overhead for the business, which is competing against larger medical companies in a changing health care environment. The Affordable Care Act is adding new restrictions on patient care, as well as providing a new measurement system on the effectiveness of doctors. Illescas hired Fourie to help prepare for these changes so she can continue to do what she loves — take care of her family. “I don’t think patients understand what kind of work it takes,” Illescas said. “It’s like you’re telling your child how much you care about them, but they’ll never know until they have to do it for their own child. I love to be able to say I afford patients the luxury of not having to know what it takes to keep them healthy and happy.”