Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura McCall.
Hi Laura, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was working in corporate healthcare and became exhausted with the increased number of patients, less time and restrictions of insurance. In the fall of 2022, I decided to open a Direct Primary Care practice. In a tiny office, with a computer and furniture from my house, in December 2022 I saw my first patient . Over the next 2 years I continued to grow steadily with word of mouth. Direct Primary Care is a different concept for a lot of people – we do monthly memberships instead of billing insurance- this way people know exactly what the cost of their healthcare will be – this monthly membership includes unlimited visits, direct communication with providers after hours and weekends, longer appointment times, and same day acute visits.
My vision was to create a space where people can come and feel relaxed during the visit, never rushed, and truly heard – I want patients to focus on their ability to make true lifestyle adjustments and focus on wellness. Looking at the whole person, whether it is weight loss, hormone imbalances, nutrition guidance, stress management – we are addressing all aspects, both physical and mental to help a person heal, and this is all considered primary care.
In the summer of 2024, I met with a great friend and former colleague, Lorie Lagan, to join me in the practice and take on more patients. Her and I worked together previously – and we are very similar- and would be a perfect addition. My lease was about to be up on my office and I wanted something a little bitter – When I found our current location, it had brown carpet and pale yellow walls. I told my husband I had a vision for what it was going to look like and this is what I wanted. I wanted the space to create a true wellness center – I wanted a welcoming space, that did not feel like a traditional medical office. where everything you need could be at one location- primary care, weight management, hormones, but also for IV therapy, red light therapy, sauna, float therapy and to provide quality supplements, along with herbal teas and tinctures to use for healing, instead of or as an adjunct to conventional medicine. Our office grew quickly, adding 2 front desk (Escarleth Perez and Magaly Morales), as well as 2 RNs (Brisha Young and Leah Laing). In November, Julia Martell, NP also joined the team to continue to help take new patients as we continue to grow and at the end of March, we will be adding our 4th NP, Erin Kirkpatrick.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha Ha. Definitely not. It was a huge leap of faith- I quit a corporate salary job on a whim when I got an email saying the number of patients I had to see was going to increase and I would have 10 minute visits. I told myself I would “figure it out” – but that was not what I wanted to do.
I had a few people tell me I was crazy for thinking this model would work, especially as an NP. and it did take a little while to get going, as patients had to see the value in what they were getting, as this was not 15 min appointments with an insurance based system, as they were used to.
The first 6 months was slow, maybe only a few patients a week. Often questioning whether I made the right decision.
At this time, I was also getting ready to move my oldest to college, so the financial aspect was worrisome every day.
I poured every dollar I had into renovating my new office and hiring a full time provider all at once – so I had to just believe this was going to work.
There were a lot of long nights, early mornings and weekends of working on all the details. There were days I question if this was worth it, the long hours and constant backend business work that was consuming me – but then I would start seeing our named tagged on Facebook when patients asked for recommendations, or we would get a google review, or even a text or email from a patient thanking us. – and this honestly makes it all worth it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a Direct Primary Care practice – We offer low monthly memberships that include longer appointment times (usually 30-60 minutes), same day sick appointments, telehealth, direct communication with provider -including after hours and weekends, wholesale lab prices, we work with compounding pharmacies and imaging companies for discounted prices as well, and our membership includes discounts on our of our wellness services as well.
In addition to primary care, we specialize in hormone balancing and metabolic health. We work with a lot of people with autoimmune disease, PCOS, and thyroid issues. We offer hormone replacement therapy as well as medical weight loss.
I feel the biggest thing that sets us apart is we listen and we try to get the whole picture. That is the benefit of longer appointments, you are never rushed – we want to talk about every issue or concern. Talk about medications and ways to improve health. And also because we cap our memberships we are able to keep our patient panel personable.
Our office is very warm and welcoming. and we are able to offer multiple wellness services all under one roof.
We also have a Red light therapy bed, Sauna and Cold Plunge, Float therapy (the only one Beaufort County) , IV therapy and offer vitamin injections.
In addition we have an EmSculpt machine we use for both aesthetic and functional wellness, Emsella chair for pelvic floor health and an ExoMind for non-invasive, drug free treatment for depression and anxiety.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe in “everything happens for a reason”
Pricing:
- $85/mo for our Direct Primary Care membership
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.compassrosehealthandwellness.com
- Instagram: compass.rose.health
- Facebook: Compass Rose Health & Wellness
