MDNews - Long Island

Recognizing the Value of an Increasingly Rare Practice Model LONG ISL A ND WOMEN'S Health Care Group PC, has witnessed count- less changes to the healthcare landscape since its establishment in Mineola in 1958. Now, in an era in which medical practices are merging to form multispecialty groups or transitioning to hospital- owned entities, Long Island Women's Health Care Group finds itself in a unique position as one of the area's last truly private-practice model OB-GYN groups. It is this model and the practice's longstand - ing relationship with the community that attracted OB-GYN Paul J. Husserl, MD, CLT, to the group. "Long Island Women's Health Care Group has a well-established relationship with Winthrop-University Hospital," Dr. Husserl says. "Our practice's deep connection to the communities we serve results from generations of caring for patients and participating in wellness programs and charity events. Our practice is at a point of expansion right now while many other groups are consolidating. We've brought on two new providers in the past two years, which is a testament to the fact that patients appreciate and enjoy the practice model we maintain." This model allows every patient to see one of the practice's seven physicians for all outpatient and inpatient encounters. "Patients want an all-inclusive experience in which they're able to access all of the evaluations and treatments they may need as part of their OB-GYN care at one practice; this is what we offer at Long Island Women's Health Care Group," Dr. Husserl says. "We provide ultrasounds, 4-D sonograms, urodynamic testing for diagnosis of urinary and bladder conditions, bone density evaluations for detec- tion and management of osteoporosis, advanced fetal monitoring, and high-risk obstetric care. To expand the scope of our services, we've also brought other providers, such as dietitians and wellness coaches, into the practice. For example, obstetric patients can take childbirth classes from labor and delivery providers at our practice." The clinicians of Long Island Women's Health Care Group perform several in-office procedures that were once available only in ambula- tory surgery settings, such as cryoablation of the uterine lining. "Another service we now offer in the office is hysteroscopy," Dr. Husserl says. "During this procedure, the clinician uses a camera-tipped catheter to search the inside of the uterine cavity for the source of abnormal bleeding and other uterine conditions. What used to be a half-day ambulatory procedure performed with anes- thesia at the hospital is now a five-minute exam. Patients drive themselves home afterward." At Long Island Women's Health Care Group, the single-specialty private-practice model isn't a relic of the past — it's the key to thriving in the present and future. A large endometrial polyp, visualized and diagnosed with in-office hysteroscopy has a llowed me to have a more thorough understanding of infertility and has better equipped me to counsel couples a s they ta ke the initia l steps of seeking a solution to this problem." PROVIDING LIFELONG CARE In April 2014, Dr. Husserl joined Long Island Women's Hea lth Ca re Group, a Mineola- ba sed, single-specia lt y private practice with three locations a nd a histor y in the area dating back nearly 60 years. Dr. Husserl provides genera l obstetric and g ynecologic care for ever y phase of a woman's life. His specia l interests include: • Infer tility — Dr. Husserl of ten sees patients who are struggling with infertility after waiting later in life to try to conceive. "After delaying starting a family for some time, women are of ten ner vous about the di¬culties they may experience and their chances of getting pregnant," Dr. Husserl says. " We oƒer these patients counseling a nd a va riet y of tests to sta r t the initia l workup and that hopefully result in a suc- cessful pregnancy." Dr. Husserl provides blood evaluations of patients' hormona l status and menstrua l cycle monitoring to determine whether an undiagnosed issue may underlie di¬culty conceiving. He also oƒers infertility counsel- ing for couples. "One aspect of pregnancy planning women often overlook is preconception counseling," Dr. Husserl says. "This is an important step 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y Dr. Husserl uses the newly designed EndoSee DX Cannula with handheld video to perform an in-office hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy. 0 8

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