Getting Back on Track with Primary Care

Your primary care provider—a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant—is an important partner in your health at every age. They are there to help you improve your health, prevent health problems, treat illness, and recommend resources and specialists. By working together with your primary care provider, you improve your quality of life now and throughout your life. Your primary care provider: 

Gets to know you.
“By seeing my patients several times over many years, I learn about their health, their family health history, their habits, and even their personality,” said Nicholas Wild, MD, of SVMC Northshire Campus. “This familiarity helps me see potential problems before they arise and make recommendations that fit with their life.”

Ensures you get the preventive treatments you need.
“We recommend vaccinations and screenings based on age and other factors,” said Norr Hashem, DO, of SVMC Pownal Campus. “By monitoring vital signs and completing a physical exam, we are able to catch problems when they are more easily treated or can be reversed.”  Jeffrey Kellogg, PA-C, of SVMC Pownal Campus, adds, “COVID certainly caused many people to delay things like mammograms and colon cancer screenings, and we are starting to see the negative ramifications. Cancers are seemingly being diagnosed at a later stage, which makes them harder to treat.”

Provides treatment when you are sick.
“Whether you have a rash, an infection, or a persistent cough, we are here to help. You don’t have to suffer alone,” Kellogg said. “Knowing our patients over many years helps us make recommendations that will work for them.”

Lowers medical costs and disruption.
“Generally speaking, people who see their primary care provider as recommended, about once a year and when they are sick, have less of a need for emergency and hospital care,” said Shellie Burdick, DO, of SVMC Pownal Campus. “Primary care offices are much less expensive and far more comfortable than Urgent Care, the Emergency Department, and the hospital.”

If it has been a while since your last primary care visit, reach out for an appointment today. To establish care with a primary care provider at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, call SVMC Northshire Campus at 802-362-4440 or SVMC Pownal Campus at 802-681-2780.