Help with All Aspects of Better Health
Two current PinnacleCare Members are a perfect example of competent, successful and connected individuals. As a principal lawyer and director of a large real estate development company, both Members have excellent connections, as well as busy, "on-the-go" lifestyles. However, prior to joining PinnacleCare, they still found themselves running into multiple obstacles when they attempted to tackle the healthcare system.
Lessons Learned from the Complications of Caring for a Parent
Before PinnacleCare, the female Member was very involved in the health care of her father who had a history of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. She spent long, frustrating hours sitting in the hospital waiting and wondering what the best next step for his care would be. The biggest stress was her family’s sense of uncertainty that decisions made with respect to his healthcare were the best ones. Were decisions being made with respect to one issue without regard to the multiple issues affecting him? Where was the coordination between the many doctors treating him?
In the few years prior to becoming PinnacleCare Members, this Member’s husband was diagnosed with heart disease. His previous primary care physician had ignored the symptoms and they had to use their own resources and personal connections to switch internists, find an excellent cardiologist, and get a correct diagnosis. After he went through three procedures, receiving seven stents, the couple made the life-changing decision to join PinnacleCare.
The female Member knew the frustration of dealing with the health care system firsthand from helping her father with his medical care. With her husband’s new diagnosis and their family health histories, they both felt PinnacleCare was the right decision for their family. Three years later, the Member affirms, “PinnacleCare takes the burden away when you are in a stressful situation.”
The male Member’s cardiologist prepared him for the possibility that he might require bypass surgery. Their PinnacleCare Advocates worked with the full Advocate Team and PinnacleCare’s outstanding medical network to complete research on all of the surgeons that would be best suited to treat his condition. Fortunately, bypass surgery was not necessary, and the Member received brachytherapy and one additional stent. With proper medication and lifestyle changes, he has not required additional procedures in three and a half years.
Help Finding the Right Treatment
The Member had also been previously diagnosed as suffering from sporadic migraines. His neurologist put him on medication traditionally prescribed in larger doses for epilepsy, which had serious side effects including drowsiness and slowed overall lifestyle. Both Members did not feel that this medication was necessary in light of the infrequency of the migraines, and asked PinnacleCare to help them seek a second opinion. PinnacleCare introduced the couple to a renowned neurologist who determined that this particular medication was in fact unnecessary. The Member has been off the medication for several years and feels better than he ever had before.
Seeking the Best Life
After the Member received his final stent, the couple decided that they should try to live the healthiest lives possible to minimize their risks. His wife left the corporate world of constant travel to complete the journey to a healthy lifestyle, noting “If I don’t do everything I can now, I will regret it.”
They decided to find a personal trainer to keep them motivated. They asked their PinnacleCare Advocate to help them find one with cardiac knowledge. After intense research, PinnacleCare connected the couple with Johns Hopkins Heart Health. Through the Johns Hopkins’ program, they were linked with a personal trainer who has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and expertise in cardiovascular issues. They began working out with their trainer three days a week, but now meet with her once a week and lift weights three days by themselves while completing five to six days of cardio work. The male Member has lost 40 pounds and his wife has lost 20 pounds. She nonchalantly states, “Working out has now become like brushing our teeth.”
The Members are grateful that PinnacleCare and Johns Hopkins Heart Health connected them with someone who, unlike many other trainers, is very well-versed in cardiac issues. One day the Member was on the treadmill when he mentioned that his pulse was 130 although he had yet to exert himself. The trainer automatically said, “You are in a trial fibrillation. Get off and immediately call your doctor.”
The Members found that eating more nutritional foods also made a significant improvement in their health. “We were never fast food people, but we have now changed our diet to a modified Mediterranean diet. All we needed to do was learn how to make a few changes in our diet and it has made a HUGE difference for us.”
A Relationship Built on Trust
The Members’ trust in PinnacleCare led them to begin to ask for help in other areas of their health. The Member’s favorite gynecologist recently retired. She found that her new obstetrician-gynecologist focused more on younger women in their childbearing years. She wanted a gynecologist who would be able to focus on her specific needs as a 50-year-old woman. PinnacleCare provided options for her and she chose a physician whom she describes as “just wonderful, really wonderful.”
The couple has also used PinnacleCare to help them when they travel. They have spent a lot of their time in the Cayman Islands, which, as the Member notes, “is not a good place to be sick.” PinnacleCare introduced them to a cardiologist in the Cayman Islands. They are now speaking to their PinnacleCare Advocate team for other options when they are out of the country and they have upgraded their PinnacleCare membership to include medical evacuation assistance.
The Member truly believes that throughout the three years that she has been a PinnacleCare Member, there have been many times that, “without PinnacleCare, I wouldn’t have known where to go.” She has this to say about her overall experience with PinnacleCare: “Before we joined PinnacleCare, we both had good internists and probably the best cardiology group in the state, but PinnacleCare has still brought tremendous, beneficial change to our lives.”
