a lawsuit<\/a> filed by Sevi Health against the clinics\u2019 former owner Steven Wool, but both have since closed.<\/p>\nAtkinson, who opened her practice in Amherst in 2005 and later expanded with a second office in Northampton, sold the practice for $100 with the hope that Gupta could keep the doors open. Over the years, Atkinson said the health insurance system and primary care financing forced her to take out loans to save the business. She even went so far as to borrow on her house, but the fiscal pressures became unsustainable, she said. <\/p>\n
In selling to Gupta, the new owner agreed to take all of the debt, with the caveat that Atkinson would reinherit the loans if the business folded. She continued working at the practice and seeing her patients. Atkinson decided not to formally announce the sale, but answered honestly when people inquired about the new owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to scare people,\u201d Atkinson said. The plan was to keep the practice running the same way \u201cand for the first year, it really was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then at the end of August, Atkinson said she lost access to all her patients. The same day, the Northampton office temporarily closed due to concerns about the building\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n
There are no structural or system-related issues in the building, according to Atkinson. She confirmed that mold was found in the basement, but experts brought in to inspect assured her that it would not affect patients upstairs.<\/p>\n
The office remains closed, and Gupta said Atkinson Family Practice will not return to the Hatfield Street location. Patients can either go to the Amherst clinic, which remains open, or reach their doctors by telehealth. Atkinson said her tenants moved out of the building without telling her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve also decided it\u2019s time for a fresh start for the whole practice,\u201d Gupta wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re actively looking for new, modern space in the area\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
With Atkinson gone and the pending departure of Dr. Michele Spirko, who announced in a Sept. 22 email to patients that her last day is Nov. 13, Gupta will be the only primary care doctor at the practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gupta said Atkinson Family Practice is actively recruiting new providers and accepting new patients. While he understands that major changes at a healthcare office can hinder trust, he asks for understanding and patience while the practice continues to relay updates to its patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cAFP has been part of this community for many years, and I\u2019m grateful to Dr. Atkinson for building a practice that so many families have trusted with their care,\u201d Gupta wrote. \u201cI do this because we believe in primary care that\u2019s personal and local, and because this community deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his statement, Gupta acknowledged the past few months have been unsettling for patients. In addition to finding out that Atkinson is leaving and the Northampton office\u2019s closure, he said many patients have received a letter from Blue Cross Blue Shield about 2027 in-network providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease know that we are not leaving Blue Cross Blue Shield and there should be no interruption in care,\u201d wrote Gupta, saying a new communication regarding insurance should be sent out shortly to patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite all the challenges, Atkinson wishes to return to family medicine in the future, although the timeline remains unclear. Former patients have been reaching out to Atkinson for advice and doctor recommendations. But she has no answers. <\/p>\n
This entire situation is a symptom of the current healthcare system, Atkinson said, and one she has warned about for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is not me, it\u2019s not Sevi, it\u2019s not mold. The problem is that it\u2019s impossible to run a primary care office in Massachusetts,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cThere\u2019s no winners or losers, this is a tragedy for thousands of patients, for me and for my family. It\u2019s just horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AMHERST\/NORTHAMPTON \u2014 Dr. Katherine Atkinson has left the Amherst and Northampton family practice she ran for more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":946948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[514350,64,63,137,500,514351],"class_list":["post-946947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-amherst-ma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-northampton-ma"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/946948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}