SNOQUALMIE – Dr. Lyndsey Rasmussen sees the work that’s been done to open her new clinic in Snoqualmie as more like a barn raising than the opening of a medical facility.
She has seen all kinds of people work, often after hours and off the clock, to get the clinic opened just two months after signing the lease for the space located in the Snoqualmie Ridge neighborhood. It is the kind of effort she said one could find only in a small town where people know each other and are willing to help their neighbors achieve a vision for the community.
“It’s like the days when everyone chipped in to build a house,” she said. “Not everyone can and will do that.”
All that work culminated this week when Rasmussen opened the doors to Snoqualmie Ridge Family Medicine, a full-care family medical practice. While getting lots of unexpected help from people in the Valley may be exceptional, Rasmussen said just opening a new medical practice these days is remarkable. Most physicians work for hospitals or large practices because the profit margins for running a practice are so slim. High overhead and increasing malpractice insurance rates have made starting a practice a high-risk investment. Rasmussen said the cost to just outfit a new office space is high.
“We spent half a million dollars before we even opened the doors,” Rasmussen said.
The result of these high costs, unfortunately, has been what Rasmussen calls a “conveyer belt” approach to medicine. Doctors see as many patients a day as they can to make as much money as possible to keep the practice doors open. She said doctors at larger hospitals, like Overlake Hospital Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center, see as many as 30-40 patients a day, at the end of which both physician and patients are left unsatisfied.
“I wouldn’t want to receive that care,” Rasmussen said. “And I don’t want to give it.”
Rasmussen simply wants to spend more time with patients, but a better insight into her philosophy of care comes from the story of how she got into medicine.
For years she worked as a sales manager for Xerox. Then her mother, at age 60, died, and Rasmussen found out her death may have been brought about by a mistake her doctor had made. Not wanting others to go through the same ordeal, Rasmussen decided to get into medicine. So, at age 41, Rasmussen went back to school in California to become a doctor.
Rasmussen first came to the Valley more than two years ago to practice medicine in a local clinic, but always dreamed of starting her own practice. As she built relationships with patients and talked about starting out on her own, Rasmussen realized the support was there to make it happen. When Rasmussen sent out a letter to her patients saying that she was leaving the practice she was with to start her own, she was pleased to see that many of them told her they would follow her. Marsha Skinner, a nurse Rasmussen worked with, also decided to follow.
Rasmussen was flabbergasted by the amount of support she received. One of the first calls she got was from Mark McDonald, the owner and developer of the retail area off Center Boulevard on Snoqualmie Ridge. Rasmussen said he wanted her to open a clinic in his retail area and worked with her to get the right space.
“He [McDonald] was committed to us being here,” Rasmussen said.
After that, Rasmussen said, the help didn’t stop coming. She found the needed consultant, accountant and lawyer to get her business up and running just from her patient base. Her sign was designed locally, as were her business logos and cards. Rasmussen even found a local upholsterer to refurbish some of her equipment.
Most of her staff is from the Valley as well. One of her additions was Rachel Robison, a nurse practitioner who lives just a few blocks away from the clinic. Robison heard about the new clinic from her periodic stops at Bibo Coffee and she contacted Rasmussen to see if she needed any nurses with a strong pediatric background. Rasmussen did and Robison is now one of two family nurse practitioners on staff.
Rasmussen said she is looking to hire more physicians to round out her practice and make it profitable. Having more than one doctor saves on overhead. While getting outfitted with the latest and greatest electronic filing equipment is expensive, Rasmussen said it will be worth the money because what she will eventually save in administrative expenses will give her more time with patients.
No matter where she is or what equipment she has, Rasmussen has developed her business plan around having more time with patients. It is the only way she wants to do business.
“She has patients who just love her,” said Cindy Meinecke, a nurse practitioner.
* Snoqualmie Ridge Family Medicine is located at 35020 S.E. Kinsey St., Snoqualmie. They can be reached at (425) 396-7694 and are accepting new patients.
