When it comes to your health, experience counts and quality matters, says board-certified dermatologist Charles E. Crutchfield III, medical director of Crutchfield Dermatology in Eagan. You have to be your own advocate. Do your homework. Check credentials. As a member of Doctors for the Practice of Safe and Ethical Aesthetic Medicine, he can’t stress enough how crucial it is to have a board-certified physician perform aesthetic or non-elective medical procedures. “Competent physicians do not seek ‘bargain basement’ shoppers as patients,” he says. “The bitterness of poor quality lasts much longer than the sweetness of low price.”
Dr. Crutchfield is not only a skilled dermatologist, but also a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, a distinguished visiting professor of biology at Carleton College, a national lecturer, and a mentor in the Future Doctors of America Program. A long list of awards and honors is evidence that he’s a respected leader in his field, and a long list of satisfied patients (many so loyal they will drive from other states to make appointments) is a testament to his five-star service.
“It’s what our patients expect and deserve,” he says. Examples of this five-star treatment include Dr. Crutchfield personally seeing every patient, making every diagnosis, and prescribing every treatment plan, being the only one to perform important cosmetic procedures, and treating every patient with courtesy, dignity, and respect.
The clinic offers a full line of cosmetic dermatology services, including Botox, Restylane, non-surgical Mesotherapy treatments for cellulite, “age defying” facials, and other minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Medically, Dr. Crutchfield specializes in the treatment of psoriasis, acne, atopic eczema, vitiligo and ethnic skin concerns, but sees patients for every type of skin condition. His patients regularly tell him how much they appreciate his honest opinion and fair, appropriate recommendations. “I believe ‘less is more,’” he says. “That approach gives our patients beautiful and natural-looking results.”
He adds, “I don’t want my patients to look different than their age, just great for their age.”
Dr. Y. Ralph Chu, founder and medical director of Bloomington-based Chu Vision Institute and Chu Surgery Center, is recognized as an international leader and is a much sought-after speaker regarding refractive and cataract surgery. Local celebrities have placed their trust in him and people fly across the country for his services. Dr. Chu is a corneal specialist whose practice focuses on cataract, refractive and corneal surgery. He is also an adjunct associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota.
Patients not only appreciate his 19 years of experience helping them to see better, but his personalized attention and commitment to educating patients about their options, whether they’re interested in reducing or eliminating the need for reading glasses, or wishing to alleviate dry eye syndrome or improve vision through LASIK or cataract surgeries. Dr. Chu offers the full spectrum of medical and surgical therapies, matching those therapies to each patient’s individual condition.
This skilled surgeon also invests in state-of-the-art technology at his beautiful clinic and surgery center. Chu Vision Institute was one of the first 10 sites in the country to obtain the Victus femtosecond laser, the first innovative laser platform approved for both cataract and corneal flap procedures such as LASIK.
“With the Victus platform, we are able to automate some of the steps that we have commonly performed manually,” explains Dr. Chu. The Victus platform offers real-time, three-dimensional imaging of the eye to aid in planning and monitoring the operation. “While we have performed thousands of successful LASIK and cataract surgeries, we feel the Victus platform is essential to providing our patients with the best visual outcomes possible.”
Another popular program is the peripheral neuropathy (PN) program. Good candidates include anyone who experiences peripheral neuropathy in their feet, characterized by “numbness, burning, tingling, pins and needles, or sharp/shooting pains,” explains Dr. Norine. The problem can start as a funny feeling in your toes, progressing with time to spread to feet, ankles, shins, calves, knees, and thighs. Total Healthcare and Physical Medicine is the only clinic in the state to offer this treatment full-time (the next closest clinic is in Chicago). “My own mother has PN,” says Dr. Norine. “That was the sole reason I began looking for a treatment—I wanted to help the 20 million Americans who suffer from it.”
The patients, many who are seniors, are treated “as though they are our own family,” Dr. Norine says. “We really listen to them and treat them with respect.”
In addition to reporting less pain, many patients commonly say they have less tingling, and a return of feeling to their feet, leading to an improvement in sleep, balance, and mobility.
Total Healthcare and Physical Medicine is a medical clinic, not a chiropractic clinic, with a medical doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and personal trainers on staff. It’s a new style of medical treatment that combines medical care, physical therapy, and chiropractic care under one roof. Medicare, Medicare plus a secondary form of insurance, and major medical insurance companies cover the majority of the costs. “I consider this to be quite inexpensive, considering there is basically no other option for successful treatment, and patients see both the medical provider and physical therapist. That’s a lot of personal attention every step of the way. That’s why we have such a high rate of success,” says Dr. Norine.
Those spine specialists can be found at Midwest Spine Institute, an independent orthopedic and neuro spine practice offering patient-centered spine care focusing on non-surgical, interventional, minimally invasive and innovative surgical treatment options for those affected by spinal disease and disorder. Patients seek out Midwest Spine Institute for the treatment of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions, including disc degeneration, bulging and herniations; pinched nerves; sciatica; scoliosis; deformity; fractures; spinal cord injury and tumors. Midwest Spine Institute is the only practice in the Twin Cities to combine an orthopedic and neurosurgery model of care. Clinical care is extended to patients at nearly 20 locations throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and surgical procedures are performed at both small and large institutions throughout the state.
“Hospitals and referring providers who rely on our physicians have a ‘one-stop’ group they can rely on to consult for any condition afflicting the spine,” explains Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, a board-certified spine surgeon at Midwest Spine Institute. “Our ability to treat any degree of spinal pathology complexity has given us a significant competitive advantage in the Twin Cities health care market.”
Because it’s not uncommon for patients with spinal conditions to endure intense pain, depression, and other overlying medical issues, it’s critical to use a patient-specific approach to achieve an accurate diagnosis. When an accurate diagnosis had been made, the most beneficial treatments—in the correct sequence—can then be recommended, says Dr. Sinicropi.
“The ultimate goal is to help patients get back to work and back to doing the things they love,” he says.
The philosophy at Alenov is centered around treating the root cause, treating the whole person, and seeking the most natural and conservative approach first. The goal is to heal, empower, and educate. PEMF therapy—recommended by leading wellness doctor Mehmet Oz of The Dr. Oz Show— fits with that philosophy in that it generates antioxidant restorative energy to cells that aren’t functioning properly, “charging” the cells back to healthy—without drugs, surgery, or side effects.
James, of Hudson, tried PEMF therapy last summer after he injured his knee weeks prior to the Tough Mudder race. He was amazed at how quickly his knee healed. “Within two weeks I was training again,” he says. “And I ran the race without any pain. Normally, it would have taken three times longer to heal.”
The high-power PEMF technology has dramatically improved in the past five years, says Dr. Alenov, going from a research field to a new level of useful clinical technology. “I believe, in the next 10 years, this will become one of the most effective healing technologies in the world,” he comments.
Since 1920, generations of patients and physicians have trusted St. Paul Radiology for their medical imaging needs, receiving careful evaluations and quality care from highly-trained specialists. “We have more board-certified, fellowship trained, sub-specialty expert radiologists than any other provider in Minnesota,” says John Messerschmidt, director of practice development.
Consisting of five imaging centers and 63 hospital and urgency care locations in the East Metro Twin Cities, western Wisconsin and surrounding communities, the staff of St. Paul Radiology is dedicated to the safe and efficient use of advanced imaging and radiology services to improve the health of patients. They provide diagnostic imaging, consultation, and interventional radiology services on an outpatient, inpatient and emergency basis—every day of the year, every hour of the day. And fair pricing, with health plans, “ensures that we provide a competitively priced outpatient imaging option with a personal touch,” says Messerschmidt.
Their mission, he says, is to provide a level of quality and service that exceeds expectations among patients, referring physicians, and the hospitals they serve. Patients—whether being seen for an MRI, CT, mammogram, ultrasound, lung cancer screening, health scan, or specialty service such as treating varicose veins or interventional radiology —can expect to be greeted by an efficient, professional, compassionate team in a comfortable, relaxing environment. They can expect a commitment to utilize the lowest possible exposure to radiation during imaging procedures. They can expect experience and expertise.
According to Messerschmidt, “Patients know that we do everything we can every day to be ‘The name you can trust. The value you deserve.’”