Collaborative health care at Liberty Mountain Medical Group
Wellness is more than simply the absence of illness — it is the presence of excellence in physical health and emotional well-being. This is the position of all osteopathic health care practitioners and the ethos behind Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM). Committed to producing physicians who are knowledgeable, skilled, and proficient, while remaining grounded in professionalism, ethics, and Christian principles, LUCOM is dedicated to not only training competent and compassionate doctors, but to putting that competence and compassion to work for the benefit of surrounding communities.
And they’re wasting no time in making it happen. Less than a year since opening its doors, LUCOM is ready to practice what it’s been preaching and, in cooperation with Central Virginia Family Physicians (CVFP), will be opening a community care clinic designed to serve greater Lynchburg in less than a month. CVFP is a collection of eight private family practices that joined together to centralize administrative and business tasks while expanding their capacity to provide seamless care to patients. The CVFP partnership is the first of what LUCOM leadership hopes will be many mutually beneficial, collaborative alliances within the Central Virginia medical community.
Such outpatient partnerships — with CVFP as well as with other local medical practices in the future — support the education of LUCOM’s student physicians and complement the partnership the university already has with Centra Health. Both Liberty nursing and medical students benefit from the practical experience gained while working with Centra’s specialty care physicians and other health care professionals in hospital-based clinical settings.
These affiliations not only increase the capacity of the medical partners, expanding access to quality health care for patients across Central Virginia, but will also provide invaluable learning opportunities for LUCOM medical students. The primary care clinic, called the Liberty Mountain Medical Group (LMMG), will be staffed by LUCOM faculty and CVFP physicians and is the first visible result of a Lynchburg medical community-LUCOM joint venture. “This patient-centered, primary care medical center will allow our students to see, evaluate, and participate in the treatment of patients under the supervision of physician instructors,” said Ronnie Martin, D.O., FACOFP-dist, dean of LUCOM. “It is also part of our commitment to the community to expand access to quality health care for all those in our region and state. It is a physical demonstration of Liberty University’s dedication to improving the lives of all the citizens of Lynchburg and our neighboring communities.”
The clinic is located on Wards Road in the K-Mart shopping center and will provide family medicine, internal medicine, osteopathic manipulative medicine, pediatrics, sports medicine, and women’s health to residents of Lynchburg and the surrounding areas. The LMMG was built as a general family practice with a commitment to treat patients of all ages, incomes, physical abilities, races, and ethnicities.
It will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, offering digital X-ray, bone densitometry, and full ultrasound capabilities, as well as facilities to run diagnostic laboratory tests and cardio-pulmonary stress tests. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine — specialized hands-on care to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injuries such as asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, and sinus disorders through stretching and gentle pressure — will also be available. Future plans call for the development of occupation and sports medicine treatment and rehabilitation services, as well as counseling and behavioral health services.
“The clinic is designed to be a comprehensive care clinic and a medical home for patients. You can, and we hope do, develop an ongoing relationship with a personal physician,” states Martin.
Dr. Keith Metzler, lead physician at the LMMG, is looking forward to developing those ongoing relationships. A CVFP family practice physician with over 29 years of experience, he said he is honored, yet humbled, when folks entrust him with their health care. “That humility drives me to the Great Physician to seek wisdom to apply the best medical practices with compassion and grace as I manage my patients’ health and wellness.”
His humility and dedication to his patients echo the sentiment of Martin and not only the purpose of LUCOM, now evidenced by the LMMG, but the spirit of Liberty University as well. “Knowledge without application, possibilities without practicality, compassion without commitment, and passion without engineering will not advance the lives of our fellow man or the condition of our world as we know it,” said Martin on the day of LUCOM’s dedication. “It takes a special kind of commitment to serve others and to prepare each of us for success in this life and in eternity.” This practical application of knowledge and compassion is what the university emphasizes in all of its programs and — with regard to the young medical school — is putting into practice by helping local citizens proactively pursue good health as well as treating them when they are in poor health.
While the Liberty Mountain Medical Group is not an immediate care facility, its partnership with CVFP means that patients will be able to utilize CVFP immediate care centers if an emergency arises. They can be confident that attending physicians will have access to their medical history, ensuring seamless care and decreasing the incidence of unnecessary or duplicated tests or medication errors.
This is possible through the “patient-centered medical home” approach, a model of primary care utilized by CVFP, LUCOM, and the LMMG that combines teamwork and information technology to improve patients’ health and their experience of care while reducing costs. By sharing access to medical records among the members of a patient’s health care team — including personal physicians, specialists, emergency care doctors, nurses, and pharmacists — each practitioner is fully informed and able to give the highest level of care possible to their patients. “Robust, cost-effective primary care is the only way that we will be able to afford health care in the future,” said Dr. Thomas Eppes, president of CVFP. “CVFP aims at quality care and cost-effective care, with a great personal patient experience every time.”
This team approach to delivery of care not only increases efficiency and provides patients with a big-picture view of their health, but, more importantly, it allows the focus of patient care to shift from disease treatment to disease prevention. And patient-centered wellness, not simply the treatment of illness, is at the heart of LUCOM’s mission.
“We envision the clinic as a medical home, providing quality, continuous, collaborative care with an emphasis on patient-centric care and services,” says Martin. “It is our goal to expand wellness and health, not merely treat disease, and that is always done in partnership with the patient.”
- The Liberty Mountain Medical Group will be open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Patients may book appointments with their physician(s) of choice by calling the clinic at (434) 582-2273 (CARE), or visiting www.Liberty.edu/LUCOM/LMMG or www.CVFP.net. Same-day appointments are available during operational hours, and major insurances accepted include Anthem, Medicare, Cigna, PCHP, and Optima.
Medical school dean receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Ronnie Martin, D.O., FACOFP-dist., dean of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), received the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Lifetime Achievement Award in March, during the ACOFP’s 52nd Annual Convention and Scientific Seminar held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The award recognizes outstanding individuals each year who demonstrate career-long service to the profession of osteopathic family medicine, to their patients, and to the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. Martin and two other nominees were solicited from recommendations of the ACOFP Board of Governors for this year.
Martin was acknowledged for over 35 years of service to, and leadership within, the profession, and for political and medical advocacy, medical education and practice, and the professional development of others. He was also recognized for his role in initiating the Women’s Institute for Leadership (nearly five years ago) and the Young Osteopathic Family Physicians Leadership program, both within the ACOFP.
Prior to accepting his role as the founding dean of LUCOM, Martin served as the governor for the ACOFP beginning in 2000 and advanced through additional officer positions to serve as president for 2008-09. During his time on the board, he served on multiple ACOFP committees, including the Education Committee, Membership and Marketing, Program, Convention, and Government Relations, as well as student liaison to the college chapters. He has served as a board liaison and as an advisor for the past three years since officially leaving the board in 2012.
