Dear Patients and Families of Bellingham Family Medicine, By now I hope that you have received a letter about the closing of Bellingham Family Medicine. If not, I will share this here: It’s been my pleasure serving you for the past 16 years. Bellingham Family Medicine has been my life’s work. It has been a labor of love, which makes it especially painful to announce that I intend to close on June 30, 2020. I’ve been fortunate to practice this long in a way that has become increasingly rare. The reasons independent offices like Bellingham Family Medicine are rare are: 1. Difficulty staying profitable, and 2. The time required to manage the increasing complexity of running a practice and business. Ultimately, these are the 2 reasons why I need to close. The coronavirus outbreak has further accelerated these problems and forced my hand. I have accepted a new job but will not be able to take patients with me. This means that you will have to find a new doctor. I am sorry for this inconvenience. I will help with your transition to a new clinic/doctor by sending your records directly. Attached by link below is a records release form that you can take to your new physician. We ask that you allow us to forward the records directly to your new physician. We are still taking appointments through the end of June 2020, but because of the Covid 19 pandemic we are only doing telemedicine visits until the transmission risk has declined. Telemedicine visits can be done on most cellular phones as long as you can receive a text and have a camera. I can also connect to you via computer if you have a webcam. When scheduling just make sure you give us the phone number you want me to call or email for your computer. You will get a text message with a link to the video visit. If it doesn’t work we can also use Skype as a last resort. After June 30, 2020 we will not be able to perform any clinical tasks, including medicine refills and phone calls. We will continue to work on transferring records and other clinic business after this date. You may leave a message for us at 360-738-7988 and we will respond. Please understand how difficult this decision was for me. Ultimately I need to make the right choice for my family. I appreciate your support of my practice and wish you nothing but the best in the future. Sincerely, John Nuetzmann, DO Bellingham Family Medicine 12 Bellwether Way #230 Bellingham WA 98225 P 360-738-7988 F 360-738-4072 Address after June 30, 2020: PO Box 2536 Bellingham WA 98227 |
