The lights are dim and I canhear the soft, relaxing humof the music. Her hands gentlymake their way from the back ofmy neck, to the tightness in myshoulders. Licensed massagetherapist Stefani Lloyd is slight,but her touch feels strong. Thesign on the wall of her therapyroom says “Today I will stopand smell the flowers.”
I’m not in a spa or fancyhotel, but in a thriving familypractice clinic in the heart ofStone Oak that is anything butconventional. In fact, I experience nary a sneeze or cough onthis particular visit. Maybe that’s because the focus here is onwellness and its maintenance, not only on getting better.
Could a visit to your doctor actually be enjoyable? “Yes,”says Lloyd. “If Dr. Geralde can let you get out of here without apill or injection, he will.” She starts working my post–pregnancy,newborn–carrying, aching lower back. “You got somethinggoing on here,” she says. Her hands feel healing and she tellsme how sometimes the only prescription a patient gets here isfor massage, which is often covered by insurance.
At North Hills Family Medicine, there is a lot going on. Inaddition to massage therapy, there is acupuncture, hypnotherapyand something called Airrosti, a hands–on way to speedrecovery from injury. It is all part of the vision of Medical DirectorRenato “Ren” Geralde,D.O., who began his medicalcareer in the military, wherehe says the medical system isbroken.
“I know that was not thekind of medicine I wantedto practice. There was noownership,” says Dr.Geralde,explaining how he wanted toget away from what he calls“fast food medicine.” “Herewe incorporate the wholesystem: mind, body and spirit.”
The combination of Easternand Western medicinesmeans that at North Hills,the doctors and patientscall each other by their firstname. The doctors say theytake the time to really listen to each patient, asking them questionssuch as: How many hours do you sleep at night? Whatdo you eat for breakfast? Are you happy at home?
“We take advantage of having the patients under oneroof—everything gets done here,” Dr. Geralde says. “Patientsdon’t have to go to an allergist and pay a special fee.”
“We know the patient and their history best, so we are kindof an everything specialist,” says Manuel Naron, M.D., one ofthe three physicians at North Hills. “We have to almost convincepeople when they don’t need antibiotics.”
Airrosti, which stands for applied integration for the rapidrecovery of soft tissue, is an alternative to physical therapy,directed toward a recovery of injury. It is used by elite athletesand these doctors say it is also helping men, women andchildren in Stone Oak. “It is a practitioner using his hands tomake a patient well,” says Dr. Naron.
“Parents bring in their young athletes with sprained ankles,and what would typically take two weeks to heal, is betterin two days,” says Dean Earp, M.D. The fast recovery preventsdisuse muscle atrophy, something that can’t be avoided in othertherapies.
Most insurance companies cover the prescriptions for Airrosti,as well as for massage, like the one I got from Stefani,which was both soothing and invigorating. Maybe it is a signthat mainstream medicine is embracing their mission.
I think I can even smell the flowers.
