BY SHALEEN DESTEFANO
Dr. Gina Fidler is a friend and Wash Park neighbor who has recently opened Wash Park Health on Historic Gaylord Street. We sat down with her to learn more about this highly personalized practice, and her mission to bring ease and accessibility to health care through an affordable concierge model.
You’ve been in healthcare for over 18 years. When did you realize this was your dream?
At an early age, I knew a career in healthcare was my dream and later discovered it was my purpose. When I was growing up, my single mother had a lot of health issues, and we frequented the doctors’ offices and hospitals, where I always admired the doctors and nurses. I also noticed that my mother didn’t fully understand her health issues or why she was taking certain medications. With this awareness, I dreamed of a career in healthcare where I could provide holistic care and empower my patients to fully take ownership of their health.
I pursued my passion, earned a nursing degree, and furthered my studies to become a nurse practitioner a few years later. After working in conventional healthcare for years, I came to understand both the positive and negative aspects of the healthcare system. I recognized that although we as healthcare providers are usually very well intentioned, we are greatly limited by the shortcomings of our healthcare system. I was able to provide a fraction of the care that I imagined, but was constrained by high patient volumes, short appointments, and a reactive disease-management focus. The workplace felt like a conveyer belt, and there simply wasn’t enough time to always effectively uncover the root cause of my patients’ ailments, much less develop a holistic plan and a genuine relationship with my patients.
While gaining this valuable experience in conventional medicine, I immersed myself in the study of wellness and holistic healing methods as well as becoming a certified functional medicine provider. I started my own practice, Wash Park Health, with the intention to create an environment conducive to health and wellness. Now I can spend the time needed to build genuine relationships with my patients, have a comprehensive understanding of their needs, and partner with my patients to develop a holistic and proactive health plan. I feel that I am now in a position and well-equipped with my training and experience to deliver the care to my patients that I always dreamed of.
As a resident of Wash Park, it makes sense that you’d open your new practice on Old South Gaylord St. For those that might not know, what can you tell us about the services you provide?
I feel so fortunate to live in the beautiful Wash Park neighborhood and to have my practice on the iconic Old South Gaylord Street. I adore this community and feel incredibly honored to serve the residents in Wash Park and surrounding areas.
We offer a variety of services at WPH. We provide memberships for general primary care, functional medicine with health coaching, weight loss, thyroid optimization, men’s testosterone replacement therapy, wellness injections (vitamin B12, Lipo-B, etc.), and dry needling. We are also launching Women’s Hormone Therapy this month!
All of these services are offered in a concierge membership style, which include: unlimited and direct access to care via in-person visits, telemedicine video-chat, phone, or even text on your schedule. Wash Park Health is intentionally an insurance-free practice to eliminate the limitations on care and treatment options and avoid the many constraints placed by insurance companies. Each membership is personalized to you and includes a holistic approach to your care and treatment.
We love your focus on personalized care and your integration of functional medicine and primary care. What changes would you love to see in the health care system?
Thank you! I enjoy practicing integrative medicine, which blends complimentary and alternative therapies with conventional western medicine, paving the way for well-rounded and comprehensive care. I would love to see more integration of functional and alternative care methods in our health care system. I believe both have their place in healthcare and can work together in harmony.
In addition, I would love to see lower patient-to-provider ratios and providers spending more time with their patients. At Wash Park Health, our focus on investing more time with patients allows us to provide the attentiveness that personalized and holistic care requires.
I find that my background puts me in a unique position to discover where my patients are in their health journey, perform root-cause analysis, provide a wide range of options for care, and empower my patients to meet their health goals.
What sets Wash Park Health apart from the rest? Do you work with all ages?
We do see patients of all ages with our concierge primary care membership, but all other memberships are designed for adults.
With every Wash Park Health membership, patients will enjoy the unique experience of:
• Healthcare that is designed with your wellness and convenience at the forefront
• A blend of modern integrative medicine with an old-school feel, utilizing the best of both western and eastern medicine in a relaxed and comfortable environment
• A devoted provider who will spend enough time to genuinely understand you and work with you to develop a personalized plan to achieve your health goals
• Advanced conventional and functional medicine testing for more effective root cause analysis and preventative care
• A streamlined process to become a member and schedule appointments via computer or phone
• Care on your schedule with same-day in-person or telemedicine appointment availability and direct communication with your provider via phone call, email, or text messaging
• Unlimited visits with no waiting rooms nor rushed appointments
When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your free time?
My favorite way to spend my time outside of my career is enjoying quality time with my husband, my teenage son, and our four dogs –well, one is a cat who thinks he’s a dog. We like a good mix of action-packed weekends and down-time playing games and watching our favorite shows. I’ve been a competitive runner for most of my life, but these days I enjoy a less aggressive pace with a light jog around Wash Park. I also love cooking and baking from scratch! Check out the Wash Park Health Instagram (@washparkhealth) to see some of my favorite recipes.
What can we expect from you and WPH in the future?
We are thrilled to grow the practice as we just opened a few months ago and will also be launching a Women’s Hormone Therapy membership this month! As we grow, Wash Park Health will continue to put patients first, ensuring that they get enough time with and attention from their provider to deliver the exceptional level of care that is at the core of Wash Park Health.
Now that my dream has become a reality, I am excited more than ever to connect with and serve my community on a new level!
To learn more, visit online at washparkhealth.com or in person at 1076 S. Gaylord St on the second floor.