
2 minute read
Sitjar Family Medicine finds new ways to serve the community
In spite of the old saying, “laughter is the best medicine,” joviality is not something one normally associates with a doctor’s office. Nevertheless, for nearly 37 years, Dr. Julius Sitjar, along with
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his wife and nurse, Tet, have been treating Fulton County residents with a healthy dose of humor as well as medicine.
“We treat our patients as friends and family,” said Dr. Sitjar. He sees his practice as a return to “old days” of family medicine.
“We’re here to help people.”

It is not difficult to treat their patients this way because so many of them have indeed been close friends for many years. “We have a lot of loyal patients. We know them by name; we know their stories, their histories,” said Tet.
It was for this reason, she said, that the Sitjar’s were “heartbroken” when in April they learned Logansport Memorial Hospital had decided to close their Rochester office as a cost saving measure.
Just three years prior, Sitjar had become affiliated with LMH, partly in an effort to streamline administrative tasks by having insurance and billing processed off-site.
“We weren’t ready to close. Most of our patients are from Rochester, and we didn’t want them to be abandoned within the month. So we decided to stay,” Tet recalled. She also emphasized there are “no hard feelings” against LMH; the Sitjars are simply “not ready to retire.”
“We’re not ready to baby-sit full time yet,” Dr. Sitjar joked, referring to the couple’s grandchildren.
Sitjar Medical Office is not just continuing to serve patients, however. They have also implemented an affordable self-pay system.
New patients pay $75 at the time of each visit, while established patients pay $50. Patients are then given a insurance form, which they can send in themselves.
“We are accepting insurance,” clarified Wendy O’Dell, Sitjar’s longtime office manager; however, patients will have to report it themselves, as there is no longer an accounts receivable department to do the paperwork.
This system is particularly beneficial for those with high deductible insurance plans, enabling them to get medical attention without worrying about high out-of-pocket costs. And it is the office’s decision to eliminate the clerical work — and the staff that comes with it — that provides this opportunity.
Dr. Sitjar, O’Dell noted, “just wants to treat patients and do what he enjoys.”
Sitjar Medical Office also happens to be located a few doors down the road from Compassionate Health Center. “We work with them also,” said O’Dell. “They send us patients who don’t qualify because they make too much money.” Paying the $75 or $50 at Dr. Sitjar’s office is still a significant improvement over high deductible and out-of-pocket costs they may face elsewhere.
“It’s our opportunity to help the community,” Tet observed. “Sometimes money does not make you happy.”
Sitjar Medical Office is located at 2671 Fort Wayne Road, Rochester. For more information, call (574) 223-3627.
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