The
Center for Longevity and Wellness (3601 Houma Blvd., Suite
300, Metairie, 885-7360) is a model for what medical clinics can
and should be: a practice as focused on keeping people well and
improving their lives as it is on treating illnesses.
The center is based on a concept new to this area; patients
pay a $300 annual membership but have unlimited access to internal
medicine Drs. Leonard B. Kancher and G.M. Weiner -- including
their home telephone numbers -- and their support staff. Patients
also can receive appointments on the same or next day after
they call, the services are covered by most insurance, plus
there's a medical spa on the premises. There also is a retail
area that sells herbal and all-natural skin-care products, spa
accoutrements and pharmaceutical-grade dietary supplements.
"We're the first medical practice in this area to do what
around the country they call 'boutique' or 'concierge medicine,'"
says Stan Melancon, director of development at the center. "We
don't call ourselves that, however." The $300 annual fee allows
the doctors, who have practiced medicine for 30 years and still
are on staff at East Jefferson General Hospital, to lower the
number of patients they see in a year from about 4,600 to 2,000
and give each patient the time they need with the doctor. The
fee is waived for people under 35 to accommodate those who are
just starting out in their careers or finishing school.
"What you're getting for your $300 a year is unprecedented
access to your doctor," Melancon says. "You get the doctor's
home number, direct line at the office, his email address (and
support staff numbers). You can always get through to a person."
Plus the time you spend with the doctor is not limited by his
need to get to other patients.
"It's tough to provide the kind of care we want to provide
in a 15- or 20-minute encounter," says Dr. Kancher. "We want
to provide the service people want in a one-on-one environment.
What the practice is all about is wellness care, feeling good
and personalized care. It's not about when the doctor can see
you; it's about when you want to see the doctor.
"This is our effort to redesign the health system. It's broken
and this is our effort to redesign it -- to put the system in
place not only to add years to [a patient's] life, but life
to their years."
Visiting the center also will change your perception of what
a doctor's office should be. The waiting room is outfitted with
comfortable chairs, soothing art, subtle hints of aromatherapy
and a wall-mounted fountain that furthers the feeling of calm.
The staff adheres to appointment schedules and even considered
not putting in a waiting room at all.
"We're trying to do as close as we can to appointment times,"
Melancon says. "If you do have to wait a few minutes, it's in
a relaxing environment. If you need to spend an hour with the
doctor, you're not going to be rushed out of his office because
he has other appointments. You can spend the time you need."
In addition, the clinic has its own X-ray facilities and a special
bed that painlessly measures bone density and body fat indexes.
The spa offers a range of massages, customized skin care treatments
and the center soon will expand into a space that will accommodate
yoga and tai chi classes, a wellness dining cafe and juice bar
as well as health seminars.
