09/19/2024    David Secord, DPM

RE: “Why I Chose an NP for My Care” National Commercial (Howard Bonenberger, DPM)

My experience was somewhat the opposite, in that an
anchor for one of the local television stations
happened into my office for a nail procedure,
worried that it would keep her from wearing stylish
(I would go with inappropriate, but there you go)
dress shoes as part of her work and that everyone
she knew assured her that the experience would be
akin to a slow trip through hell. She was amazed
that she didn’t feel the injection stick (ethyl
chloride) and didn’t feel the injection (1%
lidocaine with epi, 0.5% Marcaine plain, 8.4%
sodium bicarbonate to buffer the injectable back to
physiologic pH) and didn’t have any pain after the
procedure (no tourniquet needed due to the use of
epi in the block). She recommended that the anchor
at another station in Corpus Christi see me, as she
had the same problem and staved off the procedure
for the same reasons. She had the same positive
experience.

The two of them began a discussion with me about my
practice and I mentioned that (at that time) Corpus
Christi was considered the “amputation capital of
the Nation.” They decided to bring in a video/audio
crew and that ended up being a 5-minute segment on
the two local news stations, who decided to share
content and editorial efforts. The first segment
received so much feedback that they decided to do a
follow-up interview.

I suggested that it be a multi-segment interview,
going from my 2nd (discussing methods to avoid
wounds and the possible amputation(s) to
interviewing the vascular surgeon I used for
revascularization, to the general surgeon I used
for BKA/AKA when needed and (finally) a patient who
had been re-vascularized and related how it
revolutionized his life. The series became so
popular that it was picked up and shown throughout
the State of Texas on ABC affiliate stations and—I
was told—a number of affiliates in other States as
well.

You can only imagine the effect this had on the
practice. I had to nearly double my practice staff
to answer the phone calls, handle appointments and
(inevitably) billing. It drove a number of new
referral sources to the vascular surgeon as well.
My patient who underwent the revascularization went
from being one of my more non-compliant patients to
my main cheerleader for people to stop smoking, eat
a smart diet and participate in regular exercise
(none of which he did previously.)

I have no doubt that if a seed of knowledge of what
we do for the community was planted, a “mighty oak”
of good would come of it, drive patients and
referrals to our offices and students to our
schools.

David Secord, DPM, McAllen, TX

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