With primary care physicians overbooked or switching to a concierge care model, many patients have a tough time getting in to see a primary care doctor. The difficulty can be especially acute for seasonal residents who need to see a doctor but can’t get an appointment before they are due to return north.
Recognizing the urgent need to expand access to healthcare for year-round and seasonal retirees, Dr. Gerald Pierone recently opened C-Suite by Whole Family Health Center. The new primary care office in Vero Beach has medical professionals committed to delivering healthcare excellence to their patients whether they live here year-round or are looking for a healthcare home away from home.
“So many people need access to good primary care when they are here, but they just don’t know where to go,” said Dr. Pierone. “They don’t necessarily want a concierge doctor because they may already have one up north and they don’t want to go to an urgent care practice. That’s where C-Suite comes into play.
“This practice is dedicated to those individuals. We say retirees, but it’s essentially people who are 50-plus living part-time or full-time in our community. Many of our patients are on Medicare or they may have private insurance. We take most insurance plans.
“Basically, we are trying to improve the capacity for primary care for the over-50 population in our county,” he continued. “Because older people have more medical needs, they need more time scheduled for their appointment. Our appointments are blocked out at 30 minutes, as opposed to a 15-minute visit in most other offices. The longer visits and quicker access to care makes us more like a concierge practice but without the monthly or yearly fees.”
The C-Suite staff offers adult primary care, which includes prevention and wellness visits, chronic disease management, flu shots, vaccines and specialty referrals. They also have a full-service diagnostic laboratory where they can draw the patient’s blood and send it directly to Quest or LabCorp for evaluation, saving the patient another trip to an outside lab.
One of the most unique services C-Suite offers patients is access to their private pharmacy with substantially lower costs than retailers.
“C-Suite is under the umbrella of the Whole Family Health Center family of nonprofit community health practices,” Dr. Pierone explained. “Because of that affiliation our pharmacy is what they call a 340B pharmacy, enabling us to purchase medications at the government rate which is about 30 percent lower than those of retailers like CVS and Walgreens. We pass those savings on to patients and in some cases our costs are lower than the patients’ copay with insurance. It’s really a tremendous benefit. I’ve had some patients that have saved $500 a month on their medication co-pays just because they come here.”
In addition to offering one-stop medical, pharmaceutical and lab care, C-Suite works closely with its sister Whole Family Health practices and can schedule services like diabetic and nutritional counseling. They can even refer a patient to Whole Family Health for social services and case management.
Dr. Pierone founded Whole Family Health Center 25 years ago as a nonprofit community healthcare organization providing access to adult and pediatric primary care and behavioral health, regardless of income.
Whole Family Health Center became a household name during COVID-19 when it established itself as a leader in the testing, treatment and vaccination of COVID-19 by offering drive-up testing, weekend vaccine clinics and the only Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Center in Vero Beach. With state-of-the-art clinical offices in Vero Beach and Fort Pierce, the clinic’s team of medical professionals is committed to delivering compassionate, quality care to all.
“We saw a growing need in our community for elder healthcare and opened C-Suite to fill that void,” Dr. Pierone said. “C-Suite is a nonprofit medical center which is part of Whole Family Health Center, but that focuses on people over 50 with Medicare and private insurance.
“Our patients have specific challenges, and being older they may have more than one health issue to overcome. A lot of primary care is dealing with issues on the front end and making referrals,” Dr. Pierone continued. “But as primary care physicians we need to stay in the loop with the specialists and coordinate care with other specialists.
“We’re kind of like the quarterback for your health. An anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by your orthopedist may not be safe to take with a statin prescribed by your cardiologist. Often one specialist doesn’t know what another specialist is doing and that’s where the primary care physician steps in. It’s our job to monitor and coordinate all facets of your care and our clinical pharmacist is skilled at medication reconciliation. We can consult the specialists and together come up with an alternative medication that is compatible.”
C-Suite’s offices are elegant and inviting with brand new state-of-the-art technology to offer older patients top-notch care. With easier access, including urgent same day care and telehealth, and longer doctor visits, it offers a good choice for those seeking more personalized, quality care. Feel free to stop in, tour the facility and meet the staff at C-Suite by Whole Family Health, 1255 37th St. Suite C, Vero Beach. Call 772-494-1770 to request an appointment or schedule online at csuitemedical.org.
The C-Suite team includes these board-certified providers: Fernanda de Oliveira, MD; and advanced practice registered nurses Justine Foxwell and Candace LaBonte. Dr. Gerald Pierone received his medical degree from the University of Florida and completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. He trained in infectious diseases at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.