CentraState - Healthy Directions

Jane and Bill Jelinek, with daughter Debra and grandson Carl, understand the value of a long-term relationship with primary care physicians who know the family well. Primary Care for the Long Term W hen Freehold residents Bill and Jane Jelinek met Jacqueline E. Zuckerbrod, DO, 23 years ago, the board-certified family medicine physician had just completed residency and joined a local primary care practice. The Jelineks—now proud grandparents in their mid-60s—had brought in one of their sick children for a doctor visit and recall with satisfaction the care they received at that first meeting with Dr. Zuckerbrod. Two years later, Dr. Zuckerbrod wed Paul R. Axelrad, MD, a board-certified internal medicine physician, and the two opened their own practice. They were delighted to find the Jelinek family—including daughters Debra, Margaret, and Betsy, and son David—among their first patients. Jane’s mother and older brother also chose the couple as their primary care physicians, and the groundwork for many years of family-focused care was laid. Over the years, the Jelineks encountered many health-related issues as most families do, and due to their long-term relationship with their trusted primary care physicians, each problem was dealt with as thoroughly and carefully as possible. The Jelineks were treated as individuals, and each matter was handled accordingly. For example, Jane’s mother, a concert pianist in her homeland, was a brilliant, active woman who, despite many significant medical problems, sank into a temporary depression due to a seemingly minor ailment. “My mother had arthritis in one of her little fingers, and the problem hampered her ability to pursue her passion of playing the piano. Dr. Zuckerbrod understood how important piano playing was to Mom and worked to find a solution,” Jane says. Jane’s mother’s condition improved, her spirits lightened, and her family welcomed back the woman they fondly call their “Omi.” On a more somber note, the family had to face difficult health issues with Jane’s brother, who was developmentally disabled and lived in a group home for many years. “Dr. Zuckerbrod was www.centrastate.com wonderful about counseling us because she understood our family values so well,” Jane says. The Jelineks understand the importance of being informed, involved participants in their own individual healthcare decisions, and they impressed this on each of their children. They ensured that their children felt comfortable with that responsibility as they grew older. Today, all four children live out of state, but the physicians are still available if needed when the kids and their families come home for visits. “Once, when one of our daughters and granddaughter, Mirka, were visiting, Mirka developed a bad sore throat. Dr. Zuckerbrod agreed to see her without hesitation, as if Mirka had always been one of her patients,” Bill says. “No matter how much it has changed over the years, medicine still boils down to relationships,” Dr. Zuckerbrod says. Dedicated to Their Roots Jacqueline E. Zuckerbrod, DO, board-certified family medicine physician on the medical staff at CentraState Medical Center, and her husband, Paul R. Axelrad, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician on the medical staff at CentraState, never dreamed of practicing anywhere other than the area where they were raised. Dr. Axelrad was exposed to medicine from an early age, growing up in Lakewood with a pharmacist for a father and a brother who eventually became a general and vascular surgeon. After seeing family members endure many “The Jelineks are a kind, well-informed family, and it’s been gratifying to help them through so many things and watch their children grow up—that’s what being a family practice physician is all about.” CentraState has more than 75 primary care physicians on staff. For more information about primary care or to find a primary care physician on the medical staff at CentraState, call (866) CENTRA7 (866-236-8727) or visit www.centrastate.com/primarycare. HD Paul R. Axelrad, MD, board-certifi ed internal medicine physician, and Jacqueline E. Zuckerbrod, DO, board-certifi ed family medicine physician illnesses during her youth in Freehold, Dr. Zuckerbrod grew up wishing to emulate the local physicians who cared for them. Today, these two local physicians adhere to a small-town approach to medicine that has helped them form lasting relationships with, as Dr. Zuckerbrod says, “too many patients to count.” “For my husband and me the choice of where to practice was simple: Our families were here, and to borrow from another local, ‘it’s my hometown,’” Dr. Zuckerbrod says. “Dr. Zuckerbrod has always given me and my family medical and moral support, from counseling us on quality-of-life issues for my mother and brother to caring for my children as they grew up and took charge of their own healthcare.” —Jane Jelinek July/August 2011 3

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