Wellness & Recovery Of Salem

06/24/2020

So, what is DPC? DPC stands for Direct Primary Care, and in a nutshell, it is a membership based practice. It is a way to manage costs related to medical care in which the patient pays one simple fee per month.
It is the biggest present box you can imagine!
Possibly the best idea humans have come up with since....fill in what ever you want!

Why? I will give you an example from a recent day in clinic.
It was a Sunday, itself a miracle because people who are working all week who would be stressed to have a doctor's appointment can come in/ have a telemedicine visit in a relaxed manner. I can do this because I can set the hours to be best for both me, staff and patients.

He wanted to do the antibody test for the Covid19 virus disease. Without muss or fuss, he was able to do the test: a finger stick, and got his results in 10 min. We could discuss in detail how he would use the results in his life, work and home. I was able to learn about the FDA approved test through the networking group that DPC docs have made.
Several everyday miracles were involved. First, the initial price was $25 for members, $35 for non members. (Wholesale $10/test). Because the test turned out to be so easy (if inelegant), we had just lowered the cost to make it even more accessible for patients and their friends. To his delight, the test cost all of $15!

To polish off the day of simple miracles, he was also able to address a rash, which had bothered for 2 weeks, without having to make another appoint ment or take time off work, discuss quitting smoking, and other health issues. When he went to pay for the extra visit, he was told he owed nothing, it was simply part of his membership.
for the win.

05/25/2020

Wellness and Recovery is truly a team effort. We work together to help you...it is truly our joy and honor to help you. Recovery from addictions (INCLUDING SUGAR !) is an huge achievement, one people earn at tremendous effort EVERY DAY. We are on your team.

05/19/2020

Breathing is one of the best ways that we can influence our 'autonomic' nervous system. There are many good breathing practices, and it is interesting that almost every religion has a form of breathing practice.... I am particularly fond of the breathing practice developed by Dutchman Wim Hof, who has a four minute program that works well....link below, enjoy!

https://youtu.be/nzCaZQqAs9I

05/16/2020

We can do addiction treatment 'virtually'! Meaning, we can admit you to treatment by way of a video visit thanks to changes in the DEA regulations made by the agency in response to the epidemic of COVID-19 illness. In the past, the DEA required an in person visit to start suboxone assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Now, we can do the assessment and start of medication assisted treatment using video conference (zoom, facetime etc). This is wonderful!
This is wonderful! Our program is particularly good for people struggling with addiction to opioid pills or he**in, who are working and need to keep working even as the addiction is threatening their ability to keep their job. With assessment and program admission by video call, followed by groups and counseling via phone and video visits, it becomes much easier to grasp the gold ring of recovery
Call us! Emma is your contact at Wellness and Recovery 503-589-0539

05/14/2020

Gardening is great for the soul. Whether its planting herbs in your window or planting vegetables in your yard. Get your hands dirty and reap the rewards of your work for months to come. Remember Victory Gardens.

05/13/2020

In the this photo is a picture of one of my most cherished mentors, Dr. Donald Girard MD, of the Department of Internal Medicine at OHSU. It was my great privilege to have Dr. Girard as the Attending Physician on the IM service several times when I was doing my residency in Family Medicine at OHSU, and to have maintained contact over the years. He is the quintessential physician, with knowledge both broad and deep, immersed in teaching and in the care of patients, engaged in positions in the medical community, helping with the health of his community. I will be forever grateful for his care for my Dad in my Dad's last illness. In these difficult times, trying to understand the novel coronavirus and the best ways to care for patients, it gives me comfort and inspiration to draw on the examples set by Dr Girard!

05/11/2020

These beautiful fruits and vegetables have so much more than vitamins, fiber, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates....they literally have hundreds of molecules that help our bodies, molecules we call can call antioxidants, but which actually do so much more to help our cells work well. Why wait until the many types of helpful substances in good food are discovered? Just start eating them! Eat as pesticide free as possible.

04/10/2020

Covid 19 testing
There are two types of testing:
Method 1: test for the presence of the virus itself,
Method 2: test for the presence of antibodies to the virus.

The second method tests for two types of antibodies:
IgM, which is the antibody made by immune system cells when it first encounters a threat such as a virus, and
IgG, which are the antibodies that signal that the immune system has managed the threat. IgM indicates a current, or active infection, whereas IgG is associated with immunity.

KEY to know that immunity can fade. We don't know if this is the case with the Covid 19 virus, but it is wise to act as though the IgG levels will decrease over time. ALSO, the Covid 19 virus belongs to a type of virus that uses RNA (rather than DNA) as its genetic material; this type of virus is known for being able to change, or mutate, over time, and therefore, the IgG made by the immune system to counter the virus causing Covid 19 disease may not be able to stop a similar corona virus that has changed or mutated.

The usefulness of this testing is that it is more information:
+ IgM with -IgG : you have active illness even though you don't feel bad-> quarantine yourself!!! Recheck in 2 wks.
+ IgM +IgG: you had the virus at some point and recovered. However, before you get too confident, remember that the immunity may well not last forever, and you could have had a 'false positive' result, meaning you tested as immune but actually aren't! So you still need to be serious about precautions such as social distancing, masks, hygiene etc.
- IgM with + IgG: same as above.
-IgM with -IgG : no exposure to the virus.

It is key to understand the limitations of this testing in order to get the benefit of the information.
The FDA has made it possible for clinics to access testing; these tests cannot be done at home because of sample collection issues. The one that I am considering uses a finger prick to obtain sample. It should be possible to do these with satisfactory safety and at a reasonable cost...Stay posted!

04/10/2020

More about testing for Covid 19

Manya B. Helman MD Covid letter 4 Hello, Everyone, We hope all of you are well. Here is the news of the day and the week: telephone and video conference calls seem to be going well. The key to using Atlas for video calls is for both of us to use Chrome (Firefox could work …

04/10/2020

An update of testing for Covid disease and antibodies

Manya B. Helman MD Covid3 Hello, everyone, I hope you are all well. As of today, testing for the virus is still not practical at the level of clinic…Simon will keep checking, but as of now, the test from Quest requires a first test to rule out influenza. I can’t see putting people through two .....

03/31/2020

Learn more about our costs at our clinic. We offer monthly rates and flat rates for services.

Services and Pricing Primary Care/ Wellness Care/ Preventative Medicine Adult (Age 18-70) $70 per month Families Adult cost(s) + $10/month per child

03/27/2020

No medication support for addiction has long lasting (or even short term) success without individual and group therapy to coincide with it. We require both, in the form of in clinic treatment group, as well as engagement in community support groups (12 step meetings, for example).