DarSalud Providing Culturally Competent Healthcare Across Mid-South
- Another unique offering provided by LifeDoc is their Vida+ membership where patients can receive a 50-90 percent discount on medical services so long as they pay a nominal monthly fee beginning at $59.44 for adults and $39.99 for children. Thousands of patients have been positively impacted by Vida+ to date.
- The clinic averages 40,000 visits a year with 83 percent of those served being minorities.
- 10% of DarSalud Care’s patient population is 65 and older while 60% percent is under 21 making their early intervention approach focused on prevention an appropriate one for their clientele, as chronic conditions can develop in early childhood, especially if they happen to run in the family.
- Due to COVID-19, patient numbers have decreased by 30 percent, however, this has given LifeDoc the opportunity to launch its highly anticipated telehealth programming. This silver lining has proven to be useful over the past month as total patient numbers decrease, 25% of existing patients have converted to their telehealth model.
When Dr. Pedro Velasquez and his wife, Astrid Velasquez, founded DarSalud Care in 2005, he created it as a primary care clinic for the minority population in Memphis and the surrounding Mid-South. From there Dr. Velasquez and Director of Clinical Practice, Dr. Claudia Neira, quickly saw a need for a clinic that would provide integrated, outcome oriented, and culturally-competent treatment interventions. Today, thanks to their efforts, meeting this need is a reality, and DarSalud Care proudly operates as a unique and cost-efficient healthcare model that uses preventative medicine to improve patient wellness and long-term health through an interdisciplinary approach to the prevention and management of diabetes, obesity and other cardio-metabolic conditions.
“We analyze the data, we see what the more common diseases are, and then we try to develop protocols or interventions early. We also have models that allow us to predict early intervention– moving from disease management to risk management. This type of approach is associated with saving, it’s associated with healthier people, it’s associated with productivity, and for the last 15 years we’ve been expanding this model. Our model is all-inclusive, focusing on the main diseases that affect Memphians, which are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke,” explains Velasquez about how he and Dr. Neira have developed their Family-Centered Medical Home model.
The DarSalud Care clinic, titled and soon to be rebranded as Lifedoc across all platforms and clinics, is located on Cresthaven Road in East Memphis and averages 40,000 visits a year with 83 percent of those served being minorities. Although DarSalud Care primarily serves minorities, Velasquez wants to stress that all are welcome: “This model was set up for Memphis. It wasn’t set up for Hispanic. It wasn’t set up for black or white. It was set up for Memphis.” 10% of DarSalud Care’s patient population is 65 and older while 60% percent is under 21 making their early intervention approach focused on prevention an appropriate one for their clientele, as chronic conditions can develop in early childhood, especially if they happen to run in the family. Services provided to patients at LifeDOC include but are not limited to Family Medicine, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Optometry, Internal Medicine and more.
Due to COVID-19, patient numbers have decreased by 30 percent, however, this has given LifeDoc the opportunity to launch its highly anticipated telehealth programming. This silver lining has proven to be useful over the past month as total patient numbers decrease, 25% of existing patients have converted to their telehealth model.
Another unique offering provided by LifeDoc is their Vida+ membership where patients can receive a 50-90 percent discount on medical services so long as they pay a nominal monthly fee beginning at $59.44 for adults and $39.99 for children. Thousands of patients have been positively impacted by Vida+ to date.
Companies can also partner with LifeDoc to help keep their employees healthy and manage their chronic conditions. To learn more about partnership opportunities available for your company with Lifedoc please send an email to admin@darsalud.us. Lastly, to learn more about them and how you can get involved visit their website at www.darsalud.us or give them a call at 901-683-0024.