We were lucky to catch up with Shelly Rottner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

I have been a Family Nurse Practitioner for 30 years. In April, my partner, Tina Marro (who has been an Emergency Room Nurse practitioner for nearly 25 yrs) AND I opened our own medical clinic. We met while working at an urgent care this past year and both had a “defining moment” that we needed to do something to provide better care to our patients. This moment actually evolved after years in corporate/insurance driven medicine.

Healthcare has unfortunately become more focused on computer data entry to satisfy insurance companies than taking care of patients. This has led to provider distraction and burnout. We believe there is an era that is here where healthcare providers are branching out opening cash based clinics. This allows us to prioritize on providing excellent patient focused healthcare.

This model of direct patient care allows for commitment to easilty accessible, high quality healthcare. We are not forced to over schedule patients. We can provide ample time to learn about all aspects of our patients. We are also more readily available in our schedule to work in patients who are in need of us now and not in several weeks or months.

Shelly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I, Shelly Rottner have been a Family Nurse practitioner for 30 years. I practiced in Illinois for 19 years, before moving to the panhandle of Florida. I moved to be closer to family here in Murrells Inlet five years ago. I worked for Tidelands Health for 4 years and urgent care for 1 year. Here I met my partner Tina Marro. Tina has been a Nurse Practitioner for 25 years practicing Emergency Medicine and employee health in Hudson Valley New York. She moved to the area 1 year ago.

We decided to opt our of taking any insurance which distracts providers from offering the most focused based health care. We offer our services of primary care, school/sport physicals, same day sick visits. women and men’s health and hormone therapy, weight loss consultation with GLP-1 compounds of semaglutide with great success and IV hydration therapy.

We are most proud of joining other pioneers who are emerging into direct patient care models which allow us to provide excellent and easily accessible health care.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Together, Tina and I were able to research all components of what requirements had to be met to open a business: 1) developing a budget and business plan 2)finding a beautiful office that was easily accessible, 3)hiring the perfect staff nurse (Taylor Epperson) who is our voice and first face many of our patients meet 4) completing all the state and county requirements and permits, to name a few of the steps in our journey.

Neither Tina nor I had ever owned a business, but both have an extremely strong work ethic and drive to provide the best care to our patients. We have only recently opened our doors in April of this year, and have seen growth each month which is very exciting
We strive to market our business and introduce our services to everyone we encounter and are extremely appreciative of the referrals of friends and family we have received from our existing patients.
Our goal is to establish a relationship with our new patients that allows them to feel more confident in their health and wellness than before they walked through out door.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I would have to say compassion. I knew the day I met Tina we both shared a compassion and empathy for people. You can be the most highly trained provider in your profession but without compassion and empathy you may lack the very skill patients need most.

Contact Info:

• Website: ezbeachcare.com
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