Johns Creek Healthcare Association
Part of Your Community - Part of Your Life
by Judy Le Jeune
photography by Liz Bennett
3651 Peachtree Parkway Suite 425 - Suwanee, GA 30024
Choosing a healthcare provider that serves your healthcare needs can be a serious and difficult decision. Every patient is looking for the best medical care from the best provider and one that they also feel comfortable communicating with and respect as a medical professional. The communities of South Forsyth and Johns Creek are fortunate to have a large medical community within a few miles of most everyone's home. This large healthcare community provides many options from which to choose a provider for most every medical need, in every specialty area. In addition to such an expansive medical community from which patients can choose a provider in Suwanee and Duluth, there is also an opportunity for all medical providers in this community to become a member of a cohesive association that has specific benefits and advantages for the medical community in Johns Creek.
The Johns Creek Healthcare Association is a not-for-profit, multi-specialty organization that is comprised of members from the entire healthcare industry - doctors, nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, pharmacists, long-term care providers, chiropractors - whose practices are located in Duluth and Suwanee. In addition to the uniqueness of an organization comprised of local health care providers, the Johns Creek Healthcare Association has benefits and services for its members which enable them to elevate their level of service to patients. Education, networking and the comradeship of being a member of a group that is specifically for medical professionals is a continual benefit to both members and their patients. The Johns Creek Healthcare Association was created from an informal group of physicians who realized that there is strength in numbers and that the opportunity to communicate and exchange information had many advantages that these medical providers could benefit from and pass on to their patients.
Stopping for a morning coffee, Dr. Brian Hudes started talking with other doctors who were also getting their coffee. Eventually, these conversations led to a group of medical providers from Johns Creek continuing their conversation sitting down at a table, which then led to a scheduled weekly meeting. Dr. Samantha Benson was one of the doctors who participated in these informal exchanges and told her husband, Charles, about the valuable communication and advantages of these morning conversations. Charles applied his business experience and acumen to these informal meetings and in March 2006, he passed out flyers to all the medical providers in Duluth and Suwanee, inviting them to a networking evening. The response and attendance validated the overwhelming need and desire to form a structured association of medical providers in Johns Creek. With over 100 providers attending the networking event, the evening became the first unofficial meeting of the Johns Creek Healthcare Association, which has been expanding and growing since. In August 2006, after the Johns Creek Healthcare Association was an official organization, Charles Benson became President and conducted its first official membership drive. Today, there are over 140 members from 90 medical practices in Johns Creek and the Association continues to grow. Dr. Mark Harris, an Original Founder and member of the Executive Council said of the founding of the Association and its growth, "I'm astonished by what we've accomplished since our first meeting in March, 2006! Charles Benson asked us to come together and create an association that would benefit its members and the community it serves. And that's exactly what we did."
The cohesiveness of the Association's members and the opportunity for them to communicate is perhaps the greatest advantage that is passed on to patients. Members of the Association have developed relationships that enable them to communicate about individual patient treatment, make the referral process effortless and efficient for the patient and provide a higher level of patient care. According to Original Founder and Executive Council member Dr. Brian Hudes, "Most of us who are members of the Healthcare Association have developed relationships with each other and have each other's numbers on our cell phones. We have the ability to refer a patient to a specialist they may need to see because we all know each other and understand our individual specialties and expertise. We can quickly make the decision to refer the patient, talk with the specialist about the patient's condition and get the patient an appointment with a specialist, all of which is accomplished in a short period of time. In this respect, being a member of the Johns Creek Healthcare Association is a real advantage for our patients."
Sponsors of the Healthcare Association provide the members with the tools, education, resources and training to improve both their medical and front office operations on what they already do best. Sponsorship provides the opportunity for local businesses - hospitals, medical equipment providers, business and financial management services, insurance companies, banks, marketing and advertising companies, staffing resources and technology services - to expose members to their services through special events, meetings and networking opportunities. The education and benefits that Johns Creek Healthcare Association members receive through the Association's sponsors has a positive effect on both the member as a medical provider and the day-to-day operation of their practice. From information about new medical products and services to specific information on how to improve the mechanics of running their business, education and information provided by sponsors elevates the level of care Johns Creek Healthcare Association members can provide their patients. As Dr. Harris says, "Choosing to be a JCHA member means making a personal commitment to extraordinary care and the Association is committed to providing the education, information and support to make extraordinary healthcare the standard in Johns Creek."
"Patients can receive 99% of the medical care they need right here in Suwanee and Duluth," said Dr. Hudes. With such a large medical community in the Johns Creek area, as a patient, there is surely an immense selection of providers from which to choose. Before scheduling your next healthcare appointment, visit the Johns Creek Healthcare Association's website: www.johnscreekhealthcare.org for a complete list of members. When you see the Johns Creek Healthcare Association logo as you enter the office for your next medical appointment, you can be assured that you will be receiving the highest level of healthcare.
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For more information about the Johns Creek Healthcare Association,
visit their website: www.johnscreekhealthcare.org,
e-mail: maryann@theassociationcompany.com or
call 770-613-0932.
