MOUNT VERNON – Many patients probably don’t associate their doctor’s office with a hospital.
The common perception is that a hospital is a place where your doctor might send you if you are really sick. But Knox Community Hospital (KCH) has primary care doctors on-site who can provide convenience when tests or other procedures are needed; Dr. Lyndanne Blahovec, a physician at KCH specializing in internal medicine, told the Mount Vernon News.
“I can literally walk across two small parking lots and down a couple of steps and be at the hospital,” she said.
In fact, if you go to the hospital emergency room and they refer you to a primary care physician, the patient is usually seen that same day, she said.
Blahovec treats patients ages 18 and older.
She noted that too often patients wait until they end up in the hospital before finding a primary physician.
“I do my best to keep patients out of the hospital,” Blahovec said. “I wish they wouldn’t have waited.”
A primary care physician will help patients manage their health issues — such as diabetes or high blood pressure — before they cause more serious problems.
Blahovec does not see her role as scolding or shaming patients about their health issues.
“I always tell my patients that when they come in, we need to be able to trust each other,” she said. “They should be able to talk to me in a way that is comfortable to them, and I should be able to talk to them in a way that is also comfortable to them. We’re not your moms.”
Blahovec’s advice on how to stay healthy is to practice portion control at mealtime and get regular exercise.
“I think people underestimate the benefits of just taking a walk every day,” she said. “Take a 30-minute walk. Your mood will get better. Your health will somewhat improve.”
With today’s technology, so much more time is spent sitting in front of a computer screen or a television set, making exercise more vital than ever to maintaining a healthy weight, the physician said.
Fortunately, most patients have learned that smoking is a health hazard, Blahovec said.
“Most of my patients are former smokers,” she said. “The patients have decided on their own to quit, which is fantastic.”
Advances in medicine have made it possible to successfully treat many conditions. But Blahovec said the most effective approach is to avoid the problems in the first place by taking care of your health.
“A growing number of my patients are telling me that they would like to avoid medication if possible,” she said. “But those are mostly younger patients. The older patients are saying, ‘Give me a pill; give me a procedure. Let’s get this settled. It’s definitely a generational difference.”
