The Columbus Dispatch

Doctor focuses on affordable health care for her hometown

- Shelby Reeves Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicoth­e Gazette. You can email her at Sreeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_reeves_

CHILLICOTH­E – Dr. Shandra Basil starts and ends her days by caring for the people and the community she loves.

Born and raised in Chillicoth­e she works in her adulthood to bring affordable health care to the area and create strong doctor-patient relationsh­ips with her patients.

Basil graduated from Huntington High School. She stayed local by completing her three-year medical residency at Adena Regional Medical Center. She would later go on to open up her own medical practice in Columbus in July of 2021, the practice would quickly expand to Chillicoth­e in September of that same year.

“I really stayed close to home,” said Basil.

Basil knew early in her schooling that she wanted to open up a private practice to have more control over how patients were treated and how the business was run. After learning about the direct primary care model she knew that is what she wanted to practice in her office as it allowed her more time with each patient.

In traditiona­l primary care, a physician can see around 2,000 patients said Basil but with this model, she can limit the number of patients she sees which allows her to give individual­ized attention to everyone. She said there have been times when she has spent two hours with just one patient making sure they get the correct diagnosis and treatment.

“What we’ve found is to really take care of people and get to the root of the problem you need time more than anything,” said Basil.

For Basil getting to know a patient is one of the best parts of being a doctor, she loves being able to build relationsh­ips with everyone who walks into her office. She said her patients are like family to her.

Another way the Basil Family Medicine practice is different is that one doctor offers many different services. Basil likes to call it a one-stop shop as she covers basic care, lab work, women’s health and basic procedures. She also practices osteopathi­c manipulati­on, like spinal adjustment­s, to help assist the body’s healing process.

“I like to think we provide our patients with a lot of different options on how they get their care,” said Basil

All of her services are offered to patients with a monthly subscripti­on fee. Instead of worrying about copays, insurance and surprise bills Basil charges each patient a monthly fee that covers visits and minor procedures. She is also able to help some patients get better pricing on prescribed medication­s. As part of the subscripti­on, patients also have 24/7 access to Basil who is available to help them assess a situation online and over the phone.

“We really pride ourselves on helping people save money,” said Basil.

Since she works out of old homes turned into offices, or even sometimes a patient’s home, Basil said patients are often much more relaxed compared to when they have to go to a hospital. Her locations are less frightenin­g and more welcoming for patients. Basil said she has enjoyed being able to create a safe and welcoming place for people to receive their care.

Basil Family Medicine currently operates out of three locations, Columbus, Chillicoth­e and Johnstown. To learn more about Dr. Bail and the health care she offers visit the Basil Family medicine website.

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