Read Full Article HereSterling’s first full-time dermatology clinic has opened and is accepting patients.
U.S. Dermatology Partners, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, opened the Sterling location earlier in March. The clinic is the company’s fifth Colorado location and the first in the state outside the Denver metropolitan area.
“They were looking around Colorado and noticing that the rural communities of the northeast corner are underserved or definitely not given a lot of dermatologic care,” said Casey Busmente, the physician’s assistant in charge of the Sterling clinic. “They were trying to implement this outreach program where they can reach people of need and provide dermatology services to them. And so they’ve opened a lot of new sites over the last three years.”
Busmente, a Sterling native, had previously worked at the Sterling Salud clinic for 13 years when she heard about the opportunity with U.S. Dermatology. After a six-month clinical and didactic training stint under Dr. Alexandra Theriot, who directs U.S. Dermatology’s five Colorado clinics, Busmente and her staff opened the Sterling site in early March. Besides Dr. Theriot, Busmente also has support from Dr. Channing Hood and an array of communication and diagnostic technology in treating local patients.
“We stay really well connected through all the technology and the computer system that we have (and) the electronic medical record,” she said. “We can see each other’s charts very easily. We can even take photos and review photos very easily. We use a dermatoscope tool to be able to look at lesions, even on a microscopic level, and be able to share photos that way so they can really support my training and my practice here.”
Dermatology care is especially important in rural Colorado, Busmente said, because of the high altitude, the dry climate and the amount of outdoor work, especially in the agricultural sector.
The extent of treatment that can be done locally depends on the types of care needed. For the most part, Busmente anticipates patients will need help with skin ailments like eczema, acne, dermatitis and so on.
“We are able to treat quite a bit here, but if there is a cancer that’s deeper or larger then sometimes it qualifies for a different kind of treatment called Mohs surgery and then we are referring to a surgeon that’s trained in that Mohs surgery technique,” she said.
The clinic will hold an open house on May 6, Busmente said, but plans are still being finalized. The clinic is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 519 W Main St Suite B, Sterling. More information is available on the clinic’s website or by calling (970) 425-3092.
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