The Center for Functional Medicine is Born

It is with pride, excitement, and enthusiasm that Monique Class and I share the news about the next step in our professional evolution: the creation of The Center for Functional Medicine (CFM). Establishing the CFM allows us to expand the focus of our care from Women’s Health to Functional Medicine, happily welcoming men, women, adolescents and even children to our practice.

Functional Medicine is an approach to health that views most symptoms and diseases as the result of an imbalance in the body. Any excess, such as too much stress, or any deficiency, such as not enough healthy intestinal bacteria, creates an environment that promotes the development of ill health. Our experience, fully supported by scientific evidence, has shown us that when imbalances are corrected, symptoms and diseases can improve and even disappear. Monique and I, as teachers of Functional Medicine for many years, know that this is the way medicine should be practiced.

The Center for Women’s Health (CWH) was created in 1997 to care for our patients using the leading-edge model of the time, combining the best of modern medicine with the wisdom of traditional healing. We both spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy in learning Holistic Medicine. Monique earned a Master’s Degree in Holistic Nursing, and I became the first OB/GYN in Connecticut to become Board Certified by the American Board of Holistic Medicine.

Monique and I were so excited about this “new” medicine that we vigorously continued our studies. We both became Senior Faculty members of the Center for Mind/Body Medicine and the rapidly growing Institute for Functional Medicine. We adapted and changed how we practiced, moving from “Holistic” to “Integrative” to “Functional” Medicine, and are now recognized as expert physician educators, lecturing across the country as well as in Europe and Asia.

However, even though all the latest information that we teach is automatically infused into your treatments, many of you are not fully aware of the extent of the expert care that we are able to provide. For example, many patients come to us on bioidentical hormones prescribed elsewhere, when in fact Dr. Evans is a leading expert on teaching physicians about the specifics of prescribing them.

In addition to creating awareness about the breadth and depth of our expertise, another aspect of our practice in need of attention is the insurance based model of which we are a part, which necessitates multiple time-sensitive appointments rather than longer, more personalized visits.

Now is the time to address these issues. We want to make you, our patients, fully aware of our reputation as the country’s key opinion leaders in the areas of Functional Medicine, Women’s Health, Mind/Body/Spirit Medicine, Breast Health, Nutrition and Health Coaching. Now you can choose to take full advantage of the many resources we offer.

Starting September 25, 2017, the CWH will become a part of the CFM. Our focus will formally and officially expand from women’s health to optimal health for everyone. Almost all health concerns are improved by addressing their underlying root causes. Functional Medicine is “root cause medicine”
and represents the ideal system for achieving optimal health. It is not only the health care of the future; it represents the best medicine of today.

Your care at the CFM will involve meticulous and thorough functional laboratory testing to identify the root causes of imbalance, enabling us to create personalized protocols to restore harmony in the body. Our treatment plans will show you how to utilize medication and surgery as a last resort, not as a first choice. We will serve as a source of inspiration and information by offering coaches, nutritionists, mind/body therapists and lifestyle educators.

As already mentioned, the many constraints created by the current insurance model now dictate a change in our financial structure. We are no longer be participating providers in any insurance plans. If you currently participate in a health plan, there are guidelines about reimbursement when seeing non-participating, or out-of-network, providers. Our introductory consultation fees, for new and existing patients, will be based on time spent together: $230 for 30 minutes and $500 for 60 minutes. We will also offer our services remotely at the same cost if you prefer to avoid traveling to the office. Annual exams, scheduled for 30 minutes to include time for extended discussion of symptoms and general health promotion, will be $310. The amount of time you schedule with us will be the amount of time we spend with you. An additional benefit of our new system will be a discount from the retail price on supplements.

Monique and I understand that some of you will have the desire, but not the means, to continue your health care with us. For you, we plan to provide care in exchange for a charitable contribution, one day per month, once we are established and things are running smoothly. We will fulfill our philanthropic commitment by continuing to donate 10% of all profits to charitable causes.

We hope that you will choose to become patients of The Center for Functional Medicine. Monique and I look forward to delivering the quality of care you seek in the compassionate way you deserve.

Sincerely,

Joel M. Evans, MD
Monique Class, MS, APRN