Written by Dr. Angie Becerra:
Some of you know that for about 2 months, I have been struggling with dizziness, uneven pupils, fuzzy vision, and diminished hearing. After many tests, most of the life-threatening causes have been ruled out. This is a huge relief, but I sometimes struggle to drive myself safely to the office.
Since I cannot anticipate when these "bad" days are coming or how to prevent them, I'm going to take a step-back from patient care for a while. I currently see 20-30 patient/day so continuing to miss work at the frequency that I have been lately is not an option. Since I am currently unreliable as a provider, am going to be leaning on Dr. Kierstn and Dr. Natalie to take over my patent's care for a temporary (hopefully) amount of time. I have complete faith in their abilities to treat you just as effectively as I have for the last 6 years as they are who I receive my own care from 1-2x/wk.
My leave of absence is going to start June 12 and run through June 23rd.
During this time, I will still be available to the doctors for case reviews and available to the staff for any managing/billing questions, but I will not be in the office except for when I receive my own care.
I will also be evaluating my current schedule and making changes to lighten my workload. I'm considering switching to longer, soft-tissue mandatory appointments (similar to an adjustment + massage, but more targeted and performed by the doctor). Patients generally enjoy this style of adjusting, but it is more costly and time-consuming for you. This would slow down my schedule while still allowing me make big changes in my patient's health. I know that this style of care would not work for all of my patients, but I'm searching for a balance that will keep me healthy while still being able to serve my patients well.
I have also hired a business coach who specializes in helping doctors with health issues continue to run their practices without having to be a healthcare provider in the practice. For some providers this means being a trainer and manager. We're not sure what this means for me yet, but she will help navigate all of us at Taproot during this time.
The thing is, I didn't build this practice alone, and the practice isn't changing just because I'm not the primary doctor anymore (I haven't been this in a long time). Taproot is MUCH bigger than me. It is OUR practice! The Taproot Doctors and Staff have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this practice over the years. OUR family members help us paint rooms, put together equipment, troubleshoot IT problems, and throw parties for our patients. OUR patients volunteer to hang doors for us, bring us candy and flowers, celebrate holidays with us, and grieve our losses (or that one time someone stole our TAPROOT letters and brought them back engraved). Taproot is built around community and caring for our patients as people, as individuals that are deserving of love, compassion, and healing. This practice might have began with my dream, but the people in Taproot, not just the people who work here, but the patients and the community we're so lucky to be a part of have made this the loving, healing place that it is today.
As I make decisions on my own health and what practice for me looks like in the future, I will do my best to keep this blog updated.
Be well,
Dr. Angie