Plum Health Blog
Dr. Paul Thomas Speaks at the Dr. Morris S. Brent Lectureship
This month, Dr. Paul Thomas spoke at the Dr. Morris S. Brent Lectureship, a part of the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Alumni Reunion Weekend activities. In the lecture, Dr. Paul Thomas discussed best practices for personal branding, and why it is important for doctors to become physician leaders, and build the platforms that can help them educate other doctors and the community about important issues in medicine.
This session will focus on developing a personal brand for physicians. What is a personal brand? How can you leverage your personal brand to attract new patients? How can you own your own brand and content? These topics and more will be addressed in this session!
Dr. Paul Thomas talks about Personal Branding at the WSU SOM Alumni Reunion Weekend during the Morris S. Brent Lectureship.
To watch the full lecture, head to the 2:14 (2 hour, 14 minute) mark in the YouTube video below:
Plum Health DPC Featured on CBS Detroit
Plum Health DPC: A New Era of Healthcare Delivery
Recently, Plum Health DPC, a direct primary care practice in Corktown, was featured on CBS Detroit, showcasing its innovative approach to healthcare delivery. The segment highlighted the many benefits of this new model, which is quickly gaining popularity among patients who are seeking a more personalized and cost-effective alternative to traditional insurance-based healthcare.
What is Direct Primary Care?
Direct primary care is a model of healthcare delivery that eliminates the middleman, i.e., insurance companies, and provides patients with direct access to their primary care physicians. In this model, patients pay a monthly membership fee to receive comprehensive, preventive care and access to their physician whenever they need it, without the need for insurance.
Benefits of Direct Primary Care
The benefits of direct primary care are numerous, including lower costs, improved access to care, and more personalized attention from physicians. With direct primary care, patients can see their physician at any time, without the need for appointments or copays, and receive the care they need, when they need it. Additionally, direct primary care physicians are incentivized to keep their patients healthy, rather than to perform tests and procedures, as is often the case in insurance-based healthcare.
Plum Health DPC: A Leader in Direct Primary Care
Plum Health DPC is a leader in the direct primary care movement, offering its patients a unique, affordable, and personalized approach to healthcare. With its state-of-the-art facilities and experienced physicians, Plum Health DPC is dedicated to providing its patients with the care they need to stay healthy and thrive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the recent feature on CBS Detroit highlights the many benefits of direct primary care and the innovative approach of Plum Health DPC. With its cost-effective and personalized approach to healthcare, direct primary care is poised to become the new standard in healthcare delivery. If you're looking for a more affordable, accessible, and personalized alternative to traditional insurance-based healthcare, consider joining Plum Health DPC today!
Thanks for reading,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Paul Thomas, MD - Recent Alumni Award Recipient from Wayne State University School of Medicine
Paul Thomas, MD - Recent Alumni Award Recipient from Wayne State University School of Medicine
In 2019, Dr. Paul Thomas received the Recent Alumni Award from Wayne State University School of Medicine. This is a prestigious award that is not given out every year. Here’s how it’s described by WSU SOM:
The Recent Alumni Award, established in 2003, is presented to an individual who received an M.D. degree from the WSU School of Medicine within the last 15 years and has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, community contributions or service to Wayne State University School of Medicine.
Here’s a list of the previous Recent Alumni Award Winners at Wayne State University School of Medicine:
Dr. Raquel Orlich is a Family Medicine Doctor in Detroit Michigan
Dr. Raquel Orlich is a Family Medicine Doctor in Detroit Michigan
Dr. Raquel Orlich is a family medicine doctor and she has been practicing with our clinic, Plum Health DPC, in Corktown Detroit for the past 2 years and 8 months. She provides excellent, compassionate care for our patients at Plum Health and delivers comprehensive care for all of her patients.
Dr. Raquel Orlich is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Board Certified in Obesity Medicine. She loves helping her patients with musculoskeletal issues via the use of Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM), she enjoys engaging in women’s health care issues, and she enjoys addressing overweight and obesity issues as she helps her patients lose weight and become healthier.
Further, Dr. Raquel Orlich’s patients love the care that she delivers. This is best captured by a recent Google review from one such patient:
By far the best in health care I've ever dealt with. I was only a patient here under a year, but I gleaned so much info and confidence in my health journey. I moved to another state and am constantly wishing I could just hop in to Plum! I saw Raquel Orlich specifically, and she was a joy as well as being supremely comfortable, knowledgeable and communicative. Every test was returned with detailed results so I was never once confused or doing my own research or guessing at how to correct the issue. She always heard me out and was willing to explore even if I was wrong. I was never brushed off and I usually left feeling confident. Chris was amazing and so welcoming as well and made all the labs a breeze. I'd honestly stand outside with a sandwich board on waiving cars into the parking lot like H&R block in tax season if they wanted me to. 🤣 They are so worth it.
Further, Dr. Orlich has been with us for 2 years and 8 months, so she knows many of the resources available to patients here in Detroit and beyond. This allows her to guide patients to the best care options and reach their optimal health.
Thank you Dr. Orlich for all that you do for our clinic and our patients!
The above photo was taken in March 2019 - Dr. Orlich was completing the last few months of her residency program and she was coming by to pick up a fresh new white coat and her new business cards. This was an exciting moment and it was so great to welcome her as part of our Plum Health team.
The Influenza Vaccine for the 2021 to 2022 season is available at Plum Health DPC
The Influenza Vaccine for the 2021 to 2022 season is available at Plum Health DPC
This year, we have the Flulavel Influenza vaccine available at Plum Health DPC. This is the vaccine that should be taken for this year’s flu season. We have the flu vaccine for everyone age 6 months and older. The major contraindications to the vaccine are previous reactions to the flu vaccine or a current fever. So if you’re currently sick, or if you’ve had an anaphylactic reaction to previous flu vaccines, then you can skip this one. Otherwise, everyone should get the flu vaccine.
The big issue is that Coronavirus/COVIC 19 illness can look very similar to the influenza illness, so being vaccinated against both COVID and Influenza will be a big benefit going forward.
Welcome Dr. Leslie Rabaut to Plum Health DPC!
Join us as we WElcome Dr. Leslie Rabaut
Join us as we celebrate Dr. Rabaut, as she is an integral part of our Plum Health team!
She joined us in February 2021, but we couldn't have a proper celebration due to the pandemic.
Come out to The Congregation on Thursday as we welcome her to our practice! Our celebration will start at 5:30 pm and go until 7:30 pm. The Congregation is located at 9321 Rosa Parks Blvd, Detroit, MI 48206. There are plenty of food and beverage options - coffee, water, sodas, tea, wine, beer, cocktails, etc… as well as sandwiches, salads, and snacks. Full menu is here.
No need to RSVP, we’ll see you there!
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
More about dr. Leslie Rabaut
Leslie Rabaut, DO, is a board certified family medicine physician in Detroit. She practices high quality care that is individualized to each patient. Her interests include functional medicine, preventative medicine, and integrative therapies that work with a patient’s natural physiology to encourage healing. She enjoys working with patients on lifestyle factors that impact health and disease, such as stress, sleep, physical activity, nutrition, and social relationships. She believes in working together with patients as a team to help them achieve their personal health goals. Dr. Rabaut is fluent in Spanish and English.
Map for The Congregation Detroit for our celebration with Dr. Leslie Rabaut on Thursday June 24th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC Featured in the Save Summer 2021 Campaign
We all want to get through this COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible. The best tool that we have at this time is the Coronavirus vaccine. A group of ambitious and vocal young adults and college students are working to get their peers vaccinated so that Summer 2021 can go off without a hitch. If everyone gets vaccinated, we’ll be able to have more graduations, concerts, get togethers, and celebrations while we minimize the risk of transmitting the virus. Check out their important work at Save Summer 2021!
Dr. Paul Thomas Welcomes 300 New Medical Students to Detroit
Last week, Dr. Paul Thomas welcomed 300 new medical students to Wayne State University School of Medicine. Typically, the incoming students are packed into a large lecture hall at WSU SOM’s Scott Hall. But this year, due to Coronavirus, the event was held outdoors at Chevrolet Plaza, adjacent to the Little Caesars Arena. This open air venue accommodated 100 medical students at a time, and there were three “Welcome to Detroit” sessions throughout the day.
Dr. Paul Thomas gave a “Welcome to Detroit” lecture to the incoming medical students that emphasized the significant history and culture of the City of Detroit. There are so many opportunities for students to immerse themselves in service learning, by volunteering at local free clinics and by giving back to Detroit and the surrounding communities, by working with grade school students and the elderly, by volunteering at food banks and soup kitchens.
Dr. Paul Thomas shared a quote from Jeanette Pierce, “Detroit is big enough to matter in the world, and small enough for you to matter in it.”
Wayne State University School of Medicine Dean Margit Chadwell with Dr. Paul Thomas, MD, guest lecturer and Clinical Assistant Professor.
How to Get a Flu Shot in Detroit
How to Get a Flu Shot in Detroit
Flu season is just around the corner and according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “During the 2017–2018 influenza season there was an estimated 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths due to complications of influenza infection.
So nearly 1 million hospitalizations and close to eighty thousand deaths due to a vaccine preventable illness! This is why we advocate for getting a Flu Shot before the start of the Flu Season - we want to prevent people from going to the hospital and potentially dying from the flu aka influenza.
How Effective is the Flu Shot aka Influenza Vaccine?
The CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.
So, if you get the flu shot, and the vaccine is well-matched to the circulating virus, you can reduce your risk of getting the Flu by about half - that’s great!
Influenza Vaccine for the 2019 - 2020 season given to one of our patients at Plum Health DPC in Detroit, MI.
How Can the Flu Shot Help Me?
There are many reasons to get a flu vaccine each year. Below is a summary of the benefits of flu vaccination:
Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick with flu.
Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children, working age adults, and older adults.
Flu vaccination helps prevent serious medical events associated with some chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease.
Vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy.
Flu vaccine can be life-saving in children.
Flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
So, if you’re a parent with young children, by getting the Flu Shot, you can help protect your kids. If you’re someone with many chronic diseases like diabetes or heart failure, getting the flu shot can reduce your risk of these diseases worsening if you were to be infected with the flu.
What are Flu Symptoms? What Should I Look Out For?
Flu Symptoms have a broad range, but typically people come to the doctor with the following concerns:
Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
Fatigue (tiredness)
Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
As a doctor treating folks with the flu, there’s something called the pajama sign - if you don’t have the energy to shower and get dressed into regular clothes, and you have some of the above symptoms, it’s more likely that you have the flu. Seriously - I’ve had people compare getting the flu to being hit by a truck - getting an illness as severe as the flu can feel like all of your energy has been taken away.
How Is the Flu Virus Spread?
Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by tiny droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might get the flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes.
To rephrase, someone might cough and they might have tiny droplets fly out of their mouth and land on things that you touch, like door handles, shopping cart handles, tables at a restaurant, etc… That’s why it’s so important that you wash your hands before touching your own nose and mouth and before eating. If you are sick, it’s also very important to wash your hands after coughing and sneezing. You can help lessen the spread of the flu virus by washing your hands often during cold and flu season.
For more information, visit the CDC for the most up-to-date information on the flu.
How to Get the Flu Shot in Detroit
Protect yourself and your family (and friends and co-workers) from the flu this year! To make an appointment with Dr. Raquel, head over to our scheduling link and select her as your doctor. After you submit the information, Dr. Raquel will reach out and offer appointment times.
Thank you for reading and have a great day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Raquel Orlich with Plum Health DPC
Influenza Vaccine instructions for the 2019 - 2020 Vaccine Season including ingredients in the vaccine.
Osteopathic Family Medicine Doctor Accepting New Patients in Detroit
Osteopathic Family Medicine Doctor Accepting New Patients in Detroit
Dr. Raquel Orlich is an Osteopathic Family Medicine Doctor who is accepting new patients in Detroit, Michigan. She finished a successful first week at Plum Health DPC, our Family Practice office in Southwest Detroit. She has already been able to incorporate Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine techniques with some of our patient’s treatment regimens. Click here to read more about Osteopathic Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine for musculoskeletal concerns.
Dr. Raquel Orlich using her hands to apply an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Treatment to one of her patients.
Dr. Raquel is excited to have started at the practice and she is eager to continue to meet new folks of the community. If you or someone you know needs a primary care doctor, Dr. Raquel is accepting new patients. Click here to learn more about Dr. Raquel and her medical interests.
Which Conditions do Family Medicine Doctors Treat?
Family Medicine physicians are the cornerstone to health maintenance and illness prevention. Family medicine physicians can provide annual wellness exams. Routine annual physical exams are important to address age related cancer screening tests, to evaluate for preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and discuss other lifestyle choices that may be affecting your overall health such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and inactivity.
Family medicine doctors can address up to 90% of your health concerns. They can manage and evaluate health concerns that arise such as the common cold, heartburn management, back pain, ankle sprains, and many others. They can also manage chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma.
Family medicine doctors may also offer simple procedures in the office such as laceration repair (sewing up small to medium-sized cuts), knee joint injections, abscess drainage, wart removal, ingrown toenail removal, skin biopsies, and many more.
Why it’s Important to Have a Family Doctor
Detroit is a Health Professional Shortage Area, meaning that there are too few Family Doctors and Primary Care Doctors for the number of Residents in Detroit. There’s roughly 1 primary care physician for every 6,000 Detroit residents. Compare that to 1 primary care physician for every 600 residents in Oakland County, and you find that Detroit has a 10x disparity in access to primary care.
What’s more, An increase of one primary care doctor per 10,000 people has been shown to result in a 5% decrease in outpatient clinic visits, a 5.5% decrease in hospital admissions, a 10.9% decrease in ER visits, and a 7.2% decrease in surgeries.
Why? Because primary care physicians like Family Medicine Doctors are experts at taking care of people in a cost-effective way. Family Doctors are able to treat conditions in their early stages before they become worse or more complicated. For example, if you work with your family doctor to lower your blood pressure, this could prevent a heart attack or a stroke in the future.
How to Schedule an Appointment with Dr. Raquel
To make an appointment with Dr. Raquel, head over to our scheduling link and select her as your doctor. After you submit the information, Dr. Raquel will reach out and offer appointment times.
Thank you for reading and have a great day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Raquel Orlich with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health teaming up with Veterans Care Network
Plum Health teaming up with Veterans Care Network
Plum Health DPC is teaming up with Veterans Care Network to provide affordable, accessible healthcare services to those who have served in the military. Veterans Care Network has set aside some funding to sponsor a few Veterans and help them receive primary care services. They chose to use Direct Primary Care because they know how valuable the services in the DPC model can be.
Plum Health DPC Serves Veterans in Detroit
At Plum Health, we’re passionate about serving veterans and providing excellent healthcare services to all people, but especially those who have served our country. One of the biggest concerns that my patients who are Veterans have is the level of customer service at the Veterans Administration hospital. We rectify that issue by focusing our care on the patient and making sure that they not only have excellent healthcare, but also an excellent experience.
We’re excited to partner with Veterans Care Network, and if you’d like to apply for this opportunity, follow this link.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Veterans Care Network and Plum Health DPC team up to provide Direct Primary Care services for Veterans in Detroit, Michigan.
Top Rated Family Doctor in Detroit
Top Rated Family Doctor in Detroit
This week, we received a nice email and letter from a company called “Top Rated” and they related that we were a Top Rated Family Doctor in Detroit. This review company, called Top Rated, accumulated all of our positive reviews online and published them on their website:
This review company, called Top Rated, accumulated all of our positive reviews online and published them on their website.
In fact, because of our high number of reviews, we were in the top 10 in this category, coming in at number 4:
Plum Health DPC is a Top Rated Family Doctor and Primary Care office in Detroit, based on the above review site.
Reflecting on this, I’m proud to provide an excellent service to our members at Plum Health and to the greater community. We really focus on going above and beyond for our patients, listening fully to their concerns, and doing whatever we can to guide them to better health and wellness. We are pleased that our reviews online reflect this ethos.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Last month, we were up to 49 Five Star reviews on Google, which is a great feeling. It validates the work that we do - people come away from our practice knowing that service is valuable and wanting to share that knowledge with other people.
This week, we crossed a threshold and received 50 Five Star reviews on Google!
Plum Health featured on the Beyond Medicine Podcast
This week, I was able to speak with Dr. Rami Wehbi about Direct Primary Care on his podcast, the Beyond Medicine Podcast.
Dr. Wehbi brings a unique perspective to the conversation as he is a Family Medicine Resident, considering his options as he creates a career for himself in Medicine.
This a crucial time in the life of a young professional, especially the life of a family physician. For a family doc like Dr. Wehbi, he could pursue an additional year of training in something like Sports Medicine, he could become a teaching physician, he could sign a contract with a large hospital system to see patients at a high rate, he could start a Direct Primary Care practice, or he could take on other options.
For me, Dr. Wehbi is the future - his choice, and the choices of his colleagues like him, will shape the future of family medicine and the future of how our patients afford and access health care in their communities.
I am so grateful to Dr. Rami Wehbi for having this conversation with me and I know that he will be successful in whatever path he chooses. People like Dr. Wehbi thinking critically about health care, and how we deliver that care, will advance the discussion and bring us closer to a better system.
In this part of the show, we discuss why health insurance really hurts low income people. Health insurance sets the price point too high for accessing routine, every day care. Often times, uninsured folks who are unable to afford the high cost of private insurance often go without basic health care services. For these patients, they cannot participate in the system because they don't have enough money to buy into the system. Further, if they do buy private insurance, they might be afraid to use health care services in the fee-for-service system because of the unknown/unclear pricing in that system.
In this video, we discuss the difference between health care and health insurance. In our health care model, we focus on developing relationships with our patients so that we can get to the root of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms. We have this ability because we have enough time with our patients.
Here's the full list of what we discuss in the Beyond Medicine Podcast episode:
- Background of Dr. Paul and why he decided to start a Direct Primary Care practice in Detroit, Michigan.
- Why Insurance is a failing system in the medical world.
- How Insurance is inflating the cost of medicine.
- Why doctors have been unable to maintain a healthy doctor patient relationship.
- The difference between Direct Primary Care and Concierge Medicine.
- What is included in a Direct Primary Care practice.
- How does Direct Primary Care work and how does it benefit patients.
- How to find a doctor that practice in a Direct Primary Care model.
- How DPC can work with your insurance plan. HMO vs PPO vs Medicaid
- How Direct Primary Care can save you money every month.
- Doing the math of savings and how you can change your insurance plan and join a direct primary care.
- Wholesaling medications for patients in Detroit and Southeast Michigan and how Dr. Paul is able to save patients the cost of membership with the savings on medications alone.
- How DPC can work in non- affluent neighborhoods and how to start one.
- Patient pool in DPC vs a insurance based model.
- How to make a DPC practice sustainable and profitable. My experience with being demoralized seeing the current state of healthcare.
- How do you order imaging, get consults from specialists.
- How does pricing work?
You can listen to or download the podcast, here. You can find out more about Dr. Wehbi, here.
Thanks for reading and watching, and have a wonderful day.
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Below are some extra videos produced by Dr. Rami Wehbi, enjoy!
In the above video, we discuss our values at Plum Health DPC, and we value the doctor-patient relationship. We value getting to know our patients, understanding who they are, and where they want to go in their health care journey. We also really value price transparency. We want all of our patients to know what the prices for health care are, so that they can make informed choices about consuming health care services.
Below, Dr. Rami Wehbi and I discuss why it's important to have longer, often 1 hour appointments with our patients. This really allows us to focus on the relationship, and developing strong relationships with our patients.
Dr. Paul Thomas is a Detroit Young Professionals Vanguard Award Recipient
This week I am humbled to have been selected as a Detroit Young Professionals Vanguard Award Recipient along with an amazing class of movers and shakers. The winners are from various professional backgrounds and represent the next generation of leaders in Detroit and beyond.
Beyond being an award, this honor symbolizes that this idea is gaining traction. The idea that health care should be affordable and accessible for everyone. The idea that Detroit deserves excellent primary care services. The idea that we can make a tangible difference in people's lives by doing the right thing.
A sincere thank you to the Detroit Young Professionals organization for selecting me for this honor, and a heartfelt congratulations to my fellow awardees. See you October 24th at the Vanguard Awards!
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day,
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health Featured in Model D Media
Today I'm ecstatic to see Plum Health DPC mentioned by Model D Media. If you're unfamiliar, Model D Media is a relentlessly positive digital publication that focuses on art, architecture, business, and development in and around Detroit.
The article featuring Plum Health DPC was entitled "8 Detroit startups that could change the world." Here's their take on Plum Health:
Plum Health DPC
Your own personal doctor, on call and on demand. That’s what Dr. Paul Thomas is pitching with his Plum Health practice in Detroit. Rather than pay a doctor for each visit, Thomas is instead instituting a monthly subscription-style service for his patients. What’s more is that you don’t need health insurance for his services (though Thomas does encourage patients have health insurance as he doesn't offer hospital-type healthcare).
Dr. Thomas’s patients receive unlimited care for a monthly fee, which breaks down as follows: Ages 0 to 17, $10 per month; 18 to 39, $49 per month; 40 to 64, $69 per month; and ages 65 and up, $89 per month. The service results in significantly cheaper lab tests, prescriptions, and more.
Dr. Thomas could disrupt the field of primary care, right from his office in Detroit.
A tweet from @ModelD about Plum Health DPC, a startup in Detroit that could change the world.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day,
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health Interviewed by Daily Detroit
This week, we were interviewed by Daily Detroit about our Demo Day Win! Here's the "News Byte"
In the above interview, Jeremiah mentions a previous interview, and that interview can be heard here:
If you're unfamiliar with our service, my name is Dr. Paul Thomas and I'm a Family Medicine Doctor in Detroit. Our office is in Southwest Detroit and we take care of people of all ages and stages - our youngest patient is 6 months old and our oldest is now 92 years young.
We offer the same services as any other primary care office, but we use a membership model - that means that our members pay $10/month for children and starting at $49/month for adults to use our service. This allows us to have more one-on-one time with our patients and deliver a higher level of service in our office.
One way that we go above and beyond is that every patient has my cell phone number - meaning that they can call or text me anytime they need me. We guarantee same-day or next-day appointments, and the majority of our in-office procedures are free of charge, like abscess drainage, toenail removal, ear lavage, etc...
If you're ready to start your journey to better health with Plum Health, then head over to our enrollment link, here.
Thanks for reading and listening!
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health at the Michigan Central Station
Yesterday was a momentous occasion - Ford Motor Company announced their purchase and their plans for the historic and beautiful Michigan Central Station. The Michigan Central Station has been abandoned since the mid-1980's, and it has been an eyesore on the Detroit skyline for the past 20 years.
The empty station had been an emotional thorn in the side, constantly nagging at Detroit, reminding Detroiters of their past prominence, but also standing as a signal of our post-industrial economic failures.
But all of those bad feelings have been erased after today's event. Now, there's a sense of pride that Detroit has an opportunity to remake this historic site in the best way possible. The event at the Michigan Central Station felt inclusive, as community leaders from several different sectors were invited to be seated on stage.
There's also the impending economic impact of having thousands of Ford Motor Company employees working out of the Michigan Central Station in about 4 years.
As a lover of Detroit, Detroit history, and architecture this was a great day for me. As someone who cares deeply about the health of Detroiters and the prosperity of the region, this was one of the best days for me.
I am hopeful that the benefits of having Ford Motor Company in Detroit will be felt and experienced by all Detroiters - employment and economic prosperity is a key to having great health.
As a physician and a family doctor in Southwest Detroit, with our office just two blocks behind the historic and now revitalizing Michigan Central Station, I'm excited for the future challenges and opportunities.
Thanks for reading and watching,
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health DPC is a family medicine practice in Southwest Detroit that delivers affordable, accessible healthcare. We remove the profit takers between you and your doctor, lowering the cost of healthcare. Our memberships are $10/month for children and start at $49/month for adults. This allows you to have contact with me, your doctor, any time you need me, as well as the ability to purchase wholesale medications and receive lab work at-cost. To start your journey with Plum Health, head over to our scheduling page: https://www.plumhealthdpc.com/schedule/
