As I biked the boards home for lunch, it was cold, and the boards were empty; you could land a small plane.

But then I noticed the new Primary Care facility, which abuts the New Breeze Apartments between Long Beach Boulevard and Riverside Boulevard. The sign said, now open.

I made a U-turn and stopped in.

As the numbers of my laps around the sun grow higher than my laps in the pool, I find doctor’s office vists a grind.

So, this novel doctor’s office was a welcome relief.

The 106 Boardwalk Primary Care facility was bright and shiny; everything gleamed as I stepped through the door.

Joe Calderone the PR guy, welcomed me in with a big smile and asked if I was there for a shot. When I told him about my photo essay blog and asked about an interview, he ushered me right in.

A group of staff met me.

I first spoke with Mount Sinai Offsite Administrator Colleen Rohlehr, who told me that Mount Sinai, South Nassau Primary Care is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 4:00 p.m. on Friday. ( Hours may be adjusted during the off-season.)

She said, “We will do annual physicals and follow-ups for chronic disease management. We can handle acute things like head colds, sore throats, upper respiratory infections, UTIs, and other things you would visit your regular doctor for. ”

When I asked if they would handle falls on the boardwalk and similar beach and ocean issues, she said, “We don’t have an x-ray machine, so if somebody fell outside, we can triage them, meaning we can assess them and see what their risk is in terms of whether or not they could have a fracture, and if we needed to send them to get an x-ray. But in terms of urgent care visits, we’re not Urgent Care.”

Nurse Practitioner Rima Patel said, “We opened this in May and have been doing community education up until a few weeks ago. So during the warmer months, we set up right outside and did blood pressure screening, balance testing, diabetes education, Tai Chi, Narcan training, and different community education programs, like CPR programs. So, in the warmer months, we will resume community education outreach right outside.”

I was introduced to Dr. Haran Ratna (Internal medicine, Primary Care, Public Health), who followed up on my query about beach-related injuries and other medical issues. He said the lifeguard stations would handle injuries and events like heart attacks on the beach. Those stations are looped into Emergency Services. 

Dr. Ratna said, “If someone came in needing help with wound care or there was an event of a heart stop, we would do the initial first responder, basic life services, but we would call the Emergency Service, and they would come and take over.”

That sounds good to me.

I later spoke with Office Assistant Terri Marroquin and Medical Assistant Erika Cruz at the reception desk.

When I asked how they felt about the fantastic seascape right out their window behind me, smiles were wide:

Terri has been in healthcare for twenty years and loves it; she’s been with Mt Sinai for six years. Her work history included upholstering cars. She’d pull a seat out, re-upholster it, and put it back in. She said she didn’t have the body for that by age thirty. So, she got into the medical field.

Terri was a Nurse Assistant. She said that was a bit of heavy work. She said, “I did have a lot of patients that had strokes and couldn’t walk; I had to transport them into their wheelchair, make them breakfast, that kind of stuff. I had some very lovely patients.”

Terri has since mastered computers and became an Office Assistant. She loves helping people with state-of-the-art computers. She reflects on kids today being born into a world of computers: “You know, I had my first computer at thirty-five.”

Once again, shifting gears, adapting and training yourself in your career to suit you and those you work with, is fantastic.

Medical Assistant Erika Cruz said she worked in a beauty salon doing eyelash extensions before her son, who is now one, was born. She went to school to become a Medical Assistant, graduated, and was hired by Mt Sinai in October. Erika was impressed by the nurses who assisted in delivering her son and now looks forward to someday becoming a Labor Nurse.

Too often, we interact with first-line employees at their jobs and don’t know their good stories. When I can, I like to share their journeys to jobs that provide them more security and happiness. People doing what they want to do is good for them—and good for us.

Terri said that through the window, they sometimes see whales breaching. How many of you out there have a view like that at your office or cubicle? Not too many, I’m thinking. I didn’t have an ocean view from my career as a cop in the subways of New York. And there wasn’t the magnificent scent of a sea breeze—that’s for sure.

Terri said she and Office Administrator Colleen Rohlehr race outside when the sun sets for a good photo.

Here’s one of Terri’s sunset photos:

I like the convenience of having primary care or medical walk-in appointments right on our boards. You might be biking, jogging, or walking along the boardwalk and remember you wanted to get a vaccine or some other shot.

Or you might recall some symptoms you’ve noticed lately that you’d like assessed. Well, you can just walk right in and have that all addressed. There is no need to go home, make an appointment, drive to a distant office—and read last year’s Sports Illustrated.

If there is a wait to be seen at this new facility, what better view than our North Atlantic seascape of boats, gulls—maybe even whales.

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Be well,

Leebythesea