‘At the end of the day, we do more than manage health care’

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

November 11, 2024

PHILLIPS – Rebecca Gilbertson, founder and owner of Taylored Family Care Clinic, said, “I had no idea what I was creating 12 years ago” when she established her first direct-pay healthcare clinic.

“People laughed at me,” she said. “I mean, there were people at the clinic locally that were like, ‘We thought you were a fool for considering this.’”

Now, more than a decade later, Gilbertson said her Medford clinic and the direct-pay healthcare model are not only thriving, but expanding as surrounding areas express continual interest in her services.

“I get phone calls a fair amount,” she said. “I just got a brochure… for a city to the east (asking), ‘Would you consider renting this building and bringing your model this direction?’ But it’s not easy… you (have) to be able to sustain it.”

Gilbertson said even with more healthcare professionals leaving larger health systems, it’s difficult finding qualified employees to staff her clinics.

“You can’t put (in) a clinic and not have staff,” she said. “That’s going to be the challenge, I think, for any clinic that’s looking at expanding.”

For the past year and a half, Gilbertson said she and the Taylored team were carefully considering the idea of expansion – waiting to find the right location and building.

“When you do the fee-for-service type model, you can’t come in and have a big, fancy building and a high overhead,” she said. “You have to look for the right opportunity to make the model work.”

Gilbertson said they wanted to take their time considering where to set up a second clinic – because she had “been asked to go in many directions” – before eventually settling on a new location in Phillips (133 N. Lake Ave.), roughly an hour north of Medford.

‘People are looking for something different’

With a doctorate in nursing (DNP) and 10 years of experience working for the Mayo Clinic, Gilbertson said the direct-pay healthcare model has been growing in popularity as physicians leave larger hospitals to start their own clinics and patients look for care outside of traditional health systems.

“I would have patients say to me, ‘Why does it cost me $300-$400… to come and see you for something so simple?’” she said. 

Questions like that, Gilbertson said, are what got her thinking about starting her own direct-pay clinic in her hometown.

“I looked at the Medford area,” she said. “They used to have general practice, independent clinics – they all retired, and nobody continued on that practice.”

Gilbertson said as she considered establishing her own clinic, the local chambers of commerce advertised a business plan writing contest.

“It was for anyone local who wanted to start a small business but was struggling and wanting help,” she said.

As part of the competition, Gilbertson had to present her plan to a panel of judges which, she said, sparked immediate interest and support for the idea.

“I had a couple of business owners reach out and say, ‘What will it take to get this clinic idea up and going?’” she said. “I said to my husband, ‘I have to do this – I just have to,’ because there’s such a need. It was like it was meant to be.”

Even though she didn’t win the competition, Gilbertson said there was enough interest that she left her job at Mayo and began pursuing the direct-pay healthcare business – eventually opening her first clinic in Medford (811 W. Broadway Ave.) in 2013.

“I had a patient the first day,” she said. “It just continued on and continued growing.”

Why direct-pay?

At the end of the day, Gilbertson said “we do more than manage health care.”

She said there are a myriad of advantages the direct-pay healthcare model brings to a patient’s care when compared to the traditional insurance-based payment method.

When insurance is involved, Gilbertson said providers often have to be very specific and careful about the kind of care they give a patient and the cost of said care.

“When you see patients (who are) billing insurance, there are definitely metrics that need to be hit to get the right reimbursement and to get the highest reimbursement,” she said.

Additionally, instead of only pushing traditional, medication-based solutions covered by most insurances, Gilbertson said her team is able to work with a patient and curate a personal health plan catered to their needs – an advantage compounded by the longer appointment times offered at Taylored.

“We really try to look at alternative and traditional medicine, combine it and make the right world for the patient,” she said.

Gilbertson said her clinic offers 30-45 minute appointments – allowing for longer, more comprehensive discussions with the patient, which she said ultimately leads to more comprehensive care.

She said she’s had patients tell her, over and over again, “I’ve never had a provider sit and just listen.”

“Sometimes I sit and wonder why the patient came in,” she said. “I didn’t do anything for them, and they leave thrilled – it’s because I listened.”

Gilbertson said Taylored’s providers are able to offer a more holistic approach to a person’s care at, oftentimes, a lower cost.

“If they could come and see me for $55-$95 for a visit versus going to the clinic, they were coming my direction,” she said.

These advantages brought by the direct-pay model aren’t to be enjoyed only by the private citizen either.

Gilbertson said her clinics will partner with local business owners to provide their employees’ health care – similar to the employer-provided health care offered at many workplaces.

“We had some businesses in Phillips that wanted us to come up and offer the direct-pay model… in their area,” she said.

A worthwhile adventure

Though her business is increasing in popularity, Gilbertson said further expansion of her practice is going to be carefully considered before any additional moves are made.

“My goal is not to become big,” she said. “Money’s never been my thing… I don’t want to do it and become a millionaire. I just want to serve the people, and I want to do it well.”

Gilbertson said though she feels she’s “doing it well,” starting the Taylored clinic was a challenge.

“I’m not a business person, I’m a healthcare provider,” she said. “And so it challenged me to become a businesswoman – I have to wear both hats… and that’s a difficult task some days.”

Though a difficult challenge, Gilbertson said “it was totally an adventure” starting Taylored Family Care, but not one she took “lightly at all.”

“I didn’t draw a salary for a couple years – that’s where people struggle starting their own practice,” she said. “If you don’t have some kind of steady income to supplement… it’s hard to get it up off the ground running.”

Now, 12 years later, Gilbertson said Taylored Family Care is not only off the ground and running, but expanding.

Across both the Medford and Phillips locations, Gilbertson said her team cares for roughly 15,000 people – drawing patients from across North Central Wisconsin.

“We have people drive a long distance,” she said. “It shows that you’re providing quality care.”

Visit the clinic’s website, tayloredfamilycare.com, for more information.