Karen Simonton works to support independent medical practitioners through her involvement in NFIB and her career at the Orthopaedic Center of Central Virginia.
NFIB Member: Karen Simonton
Business: Orthopaedic Center of Central Virginia
Location: Lynchburg, Virginia
Employees: 230
After a lifelong career in healthcare, Karen Simonton found a supportive community with a higher purpose at the Orthopaedic Center of Central Virginia.
How did you get started with the Orthopaedic Center and what do you like about it?
The Orthopaedic Center is the result of a merger in 2005 of three separate practices in our market. I had worked with all three groups and was familiar with all of the players. I knew they were quality-minded and innovative, so I came on as an internal administrator.
I have worked with medical professionals in all disciplines all my professional life. The Orthopaedic Center is different because physicians and employees are the smartest people in any environment they’re in, but they still engage in thoughtful and cordial discourse. That is not always what you find.
I am a huge believer in the thought that we should be in constant service to other people, so it is exciting to be a part of an organization that serves people, heals people and is customer service-driven. We are the only musculoskeletal clinic in the area and we provide venues for people in our community to be together and speak to professionals.
What is your favorite part of the day?
There can be some long days, six in the morning to ten at night sometimes. But we are a family and if you tell us what you need, we will help you. I like the opportunities to work with a team member and know I have made an impact in their life; know that we can really help our team members with whatever their issues are.
What challenges do you and your business face?
Healthcare is highly regulated. That’s why political advocacy is so important, so the regulatory burden could be lessened and we could pay more attention to objective benchmarks. In a perfect world, we would be measured on our outcomes and value we produce for our community.
Independent medical practice is tattooed on my soul. It makes a difference when it comes to really being able to produce good quality, cost-efficient care. It has to happen with the private practitioner. The burdens of trying to run a medical practice are breathtakingly large. I believe in independent physicians and we have not done a lot as a country to support them and it is a shame. That’s why I believe in NFIB. We can’t let independent practices throw in the towel and NFIB helps support those independents.
