Today we’d like to introduce you to Roshni Graydus.
Hi Roshni, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve worked as a nurse practitioner in a large clinic in Vegas since 2018. When I moved to FL with my family 3 years ago, I needed to find a PCP. I googled reviews and chose a local practice. Very quickly, I realized, that the doctor was one of the worst ones I’ve ever met. He did not assess and he spent barely 10min in the room for my wellness visit. To make matters worse, the office committed billing fraud and charged me for a visit when my wellness was covered. After months of educating and arguing with the office manager, I said enough is enough. This was a very common theme among practices here in central FL.
I decided then I wanted to introduce a new type of healthcare. Well, not new, because healthcare USED to be like this – patient focused, relationship focused, and outcome focused. I started a direct primary care practice, to leave insurance companies out of the picture. Ultimately, the insurance companies dictate care, deny essential medications, and insist that anyone with a slightly high cholesterol needs a statin medication. Healthcare is a business model, and as a society, we have never been more sick. Anyhow, my direct primary care, practice quickly evolved into a functional wellness practice. I form partnerships with patients to help them heal. I have found that there is a lack of knowledge with thyroid and perimenopause, so this is my focus.
I have even taken a step back from networking, so that I can host educational seminars at gyms to educate women on how to advocate for themselves, because there is so much misinformation and plenty of providers are willing to take money only to still put a Band-Aid on the problem.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has not always been smooth, because I was working a full-time job for benefits while I increase the patient load in my practice. I think that has been the most difficult part of this journey all the while trying to find a balance between family life, networking, business, and needing to go to the gym for my mental health
Some other struggles that I faced were trying to find the right people to network with. I used to stop in a lot of primary care practices to educate their providers; however, every time I was met with a lot of resistance and passive aggressiveness.
One of the biggest things they don’t tell you when opening a business is the amount of time you need to spend marketing!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Apex Health Direct Primary Care (soon to be Apex Health Functional Wellness)?
I started out as a direct primary care, and I still offer these services; however, I have transitioned into functional wellness. The reason for the transition is because every single patient I see has partial labs drawn, and are told that their labs are “normal.” Normal is not optimal. Optimal what makes you feel better. On a daily basis, I see patients that get improper care from endocrinologist because they never teach them about the importance of gut health and hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s.
What sets us apart is that we address the whole person and not just one particular part. We create relationships, and a question I ask each of our patients is, “what are the top three things that would improve your quality of life this year?” This question is so important because it makes patients feel seen and heard, but also, what I prioritize might not be the same as what they prioritize.
Nowadays, a lot of people find me on social media and they enjoy my informational videos, so I feel like that is what I am known for. I do take pride in that because that was actually a struggle in the beginning to get my social media started and learning be the face behind my brand.
We not only fix the root cause and optimize nutrients, gut health, thyroid, & hormones, but we are accessible. I created the practice around my needs as a consumer, and I would not want to go into a practice for every single concern I have. I would prefer to text or email my provider, so our patients do get direct access to us.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
It’s been hard to find a local mentor, as it seems like everybody wants to sell something. I did reach out to friends that have also started their own practice as nurse practitioners and they have been the most helpful and supportive.
As far as networking, the best advice I can give is to just get out there. I find that a lot of businesses fail because people don’t know you. In this social media world, I find that consumers have to feel comfortable with someone before meeting them, if that makes sense.
Pricing:
- Functional health evaluation – $175 for the first month
- Management program – where we prescribe meds, take care of primary care needs & urgent care needs – $100/month
Contact Info:
- Website: www.apexhealthdpc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Apex-Health-Direct-Primary-Care/100094132882578/
