We sat down with Justine to learn more about her treatment journey and why finding Local Infusion feels like “being gifted after so many years of searching for the right place.”
Meet Justine Beuregard, entrepreneur, mom of two boys, and patient at Local Infusion’s center in Concord, Maine.
“They’re very high energy,” Justine says about her sons, ages 4 and 7, “so I’m constantly busy and running around doing a million things.”
Justine has had Crohn’s disease for more than half of her life and has been receiving infusions on a regular basis for years before her doctor told her about Local Infusion. We sat down with her to learn more about her treatment journey, how she balances it with her busy schedule, and why finding Local Infusion feels like “being gifted after so many years of searching for the right place.”
“Before I found Local Infusion, my treatment was all over the place”
When I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in my teens, I didn’t really know what my life was going to look like. I’ve been on pretty much every treatment for Crohn’s under the sun — I’ve taken upwards of 20 pills a day just to manage my disease all the way to now getting an infusion once a month.
Previously, I was getting [infusions] done at really busy centers like hospitals or facilities that had a lot of people in one place. It was crowded, it was loud, and the nurses were massively overworked. The alarm would beep on my infusion tube, and I’d be sitting there for five minutes waiting for someone to come and check on it. And hearing other people’s conversations [while] trying to concentrate on doing work or reading a book always made it more difficult.
And my treatment was all over the place. I would go from one facility to another. I started off going to hospitals, but sometimes they didn’t have my orders correct, or there would be a delay because they had too many appointments and they had to move me around. One time my nurse even had emergency surgery and they didn’t have someone to fill in for her, so they had to push out my treatment by a few weeks and that ended up causing issues and made me have to switch medications, which was really difficult to manage and made it even more cumbersome to have this disease that was already causing disruptions to my daily life as it was.
“When I found Local Infusion, it changed everything”
I found Local Infusion through my doctor who actually recommended their facility when it just opened. It has been an incredible experience since the moment I walked in.
Everyone there was so gracious. I got a text message before I even arrived letting me know exactly how to find the front door, where to go. So I wasn’t confused or stressed about going to a new location. They made me feel comfortable; they gave me coffee, offered me snacks. There are warm paint colors and beautifully clean floors. There’s a gorgeous leather chair that sits right in the center of the room near a window so you’re getting natural sunlight. They even set me up with Netflix. It was like being in a VIP spa just to get my infusions done.
If there’s ever something going on with the machines or even just testing my blood pressure, making sure my temperature is consistent…they’re always on top of it. The nurse is dedicated to my care from the minute that I walk into the room so I never have to think about who’s going to be coming in over here and checking on me. It’s really nice to have that single point of contact and know that someone is sitting right outside the room to take care of anything the minute that something happens.
The level of care and support with the nurses is great, but that’s not even the best part. They also handled all the insurance and billing questions for me, so they made sure that my labs arrived on time and that everything was prepped and ready. They even offered to sign me up for a rewards program for my infusions to make sure that some of those payment costs were mitigated and covered in advance. Their help walking through this entire process, making sure that I was aware of every step they were taking as they were taking it, sending me real-time text updates, offering to speak over the phone was incredible and something I’ve never seen in a healthcare facility before I worked with Local Infusion.
“As an entrepreneur, having the flexibility to work in private during an infusion is really amazing.”
Local Infusion works around my schedule, making sure that I’m accommodated and that I’m always given options for appointment times so it’s never difficult to find one that works. And they never make me stay longer than I need to or drag anything out — they always get the medication to me as soon as it’s mixed. They make sure my treatment goes as quickly as possible and that when I arrive, my room is ready. So I never have to think about what’s going to hold me back, what’s going to take more time. I can really plan my day around my treatment.
Plus, I’m an entrepreneur and I run my own business, so having the flexibility to work in a space that’s private without people coming in and interrupting me when I’m mid-sentence or recording something is really amazing. I’m also a very private person, so if I’m talking to my family members, I definitely don’t want other people overhearing my conversations. So having that space to just be private and do what I need to do during that infusion time is so special and so needed.
“I would give them five-star reviews, everyday until the end of time.”
Having Crohn’s for over 20 years at this point, I can say pretty confidently that there is no better facility for infusion treatments. Feeling like…I’m being respected and listened to is just such a special gift. I want to make sure as many people know about them as possible. I would give them five-star reviews, everyday until the end of time.
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Local Infusion Editorial : Apr 18, 2024 8:59:12 AM
