Why We are a Sliding Scale Office
Hello and welcome to our blog! Dr. Super’s House of Health was designed to be a safe healing space for our local community members to receive care for any number of neuro-musculo-skeletal complaints. In our office we treat everyone with the same amount of love, care, and respect as we would our own family members. We never discriminate based on race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, disability, or veteran status. We believe everyone should be able to access health care regardless of the barriers involved. This is why our office does two very important things. We have a sliding scale for our office and we hold Adjust-athon events for the community.
What is a sliding scale? For most small businesses to have a sliding scale, they usually have a system in place for raising or lowering prices in accordance with someone's ability to pay. Some restaurants in San Francisco for example will have a restaurant in a wealthy area with higher prices for items while the same restaurant in a financially underserved area will offer the same items for a lower price. In some doctors offices, if you have difficulty with paying a bill, you can submit applications and paperwork for a reduced bill or price of service.
In our office we have a slightly different concept. We don’t need to know how much you make, you don't need to submit pay stubs, bank statements, or financial letters of hardship. That is personal information and it isn’t necessary to run a successful sliding scale office. We base our sliding scale on chronically underserved community members so anyone with Medicaid, Medicare, or Veterans automatically qualify for our sliding scale pricing. These populations receive discounts on new patient exams and follow up chiropractic visits.
Now to explain our Adjust-athon events! This event began with a need to financially start up our office. Without an investment from my community, I could not serve my community. When starting my private practice I had no start-up money, no savings, and no investors. I decided to hold a grand opening event I called an Adjust-athon. At this event I would see people from 10-3 for free or by donation with free chair massages from our talented massage therapist. This event welcomed many community members who have never seen a chiropractor before, some that have, and I was able to reconnect with many former patients. We made just enough for me to buy the equipment I needed to start my office. Phones, a computer, cleaning supplies and the like. Over the next few weeks we realized that our community benefited greatly from our adjust-athon and many people were able to get care for the first time in many years. As someone who has had limited access to health care throughout my life, I realized I was in a position to help change this.
I haven't seen a primary care physician since 2011. I haven’t seen a dentist since 2010. I have never been able to afford therapy and I have never had my vision checked or been to a gynecologist. My biggest obstacle to accessing health care, besides descrimination by physicians, has been money and access to affordable health care. Let me say that again. AFFORDABLE care. I often wonder how money can be such a barrier for so many people who NEED services, but that is a topic for a whole other blog post!
This financial barrier is one reason we decided to hold Adjust-athon events every two months to allow people in our community to get free health check ups, answers to their health questions, and receive needed care. We also offer discounted rates on our chiropractic services if people schedule that day so they can continue care if needed, and this is offered to all our current patients as well so everyone gets to jump on the affordable care train!.
Our second Adjust-athon occurred this weekend and we were able to serve 53 people in just over five hours. Our hearts soar everytime someone lets us participate in their health and healing process. It is always an honor and a privilege to be trusted with someone's health and body in your hands. That's one of the things I love about my job. The human body has a way of keeping us humble and realizing that we all need support and help sometimes. I hope as our office grows in size, so does our ability to help, heal and aid our community. As our patient base grows, so does our empathy, compassion, and heart. One day I hope Dr. Super’s House of Health will be the go-to place to find kindness, understanding, and care that is unrivaled. This is why I named my business the way I did. I want to welcome everyone into my practice like I am welcoming you into my home.
When you’re a patient of ours, this is your house too.
Feel well and do good,
ADIO
Dr. Tabetha Super