October 31, 2001 Dear Patients and Friends, Another year has come and is nearly gone! We've been back in Atlanta now for 7 years and I am grateful for every day of it. I just wanted to take this opportunity to catch up a little and express my sincere thanks to each of you who has made our office a success. I wanted to give you some information about massage therapists in the area who I have found to do excellent work. There are three that I recommend: 1) Frank Santore is on Melante Drive near the corner of Lindbergh and Cheshire Bridge and can be reached at (404) 816-7655, 2) Tony Vowels is on Briarcliff Road and can be reached at (404)339-7355 3) Patrick Connors is on Peachford Road and can be reached at (770)240-5588. All of these guys have great reputations and I know from personal experience that they do great work. Massage therapy can be a valuable adjunct to chiropractic care, and is an effective health care discipline and relaxation tool in itself as well. Many people have asked me if massage therapy should be done before or after a chiropractic adjustment. In my experience I have found that great results can be obtained either way, but I prefer that the massage therapist works first in difficult cases because the massage helps your muscles relax, enabling the spinal segments to move back into proper alignment with less effort on my part! I also need to announce that we have just been approved and have gained entry into a new managed care organization, BCE Emergis, which is a network which serves many major insurance companies such as Aetna US Healthcare, Group Resources, United Healthcare, UniCare, Mutual of Omaha, Pioneer Life, MedTac, Principal, the TPA, and lots more. If your insurance card has the BCE Emergis logo or the Up&Up logo, we are in that network. If not, we still may be in the network, but not yet updated in your particular insurance company's system. We are also still in the PHCS network, as well as with State Merit, SouthCare, Coventry and LOTS of others. You can call Daniel and have him verify your benefits if you wish. If you've ever been in an automobile accident, you've probably heard my speech on MedPay, but I think it is so important that it bears repeating. MedPay, or medical payments coverage, is optional coverage that you purchase from your own auto insurance company that directly pays for your medical, diagnostic, and chiropractic services 100% up to the limit that you choose, for injuries related to auto accidents. It is very inexpensive, and a fantastic investment-especially in an accident prone city like Atlanta. But your insurance company can sell you a policy and call it "full coverage" without MedPay. You need to ask your insurance agent for this coverage to be sure that you have it. I have MedPay on my policy in the amount of $25,000, and it costs me less than $10 a month. You can get adequate coverage probably for much less. I recommend a minimum of $5000 coverage, because if you require an MRI, most facilities require that you pay for it at the time of service, or have insurance that covers it. The fee for an MRI of one area of the body is about $1200! I have talked to many people about this and most don't realize that if there is a settlement from the person who caused the accident that amount also has to go toward paying unpaid medical bills, diagnostic testing, and chiropractic treatment. If you have MedPay, those bills will already have been paid in most cases, so you get to keep all the settlement, minus attorney's fees if you use one. Please know that I try to make myself as available as is humanly possible. Our office hours are as follows: Northeast Atlanta, off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard 5000 Winters Chapel Rd. Dunwoody, GA 30360 Map 770-395-9009 Office Hours: Monday 3pm-7pm Wednesday 10am-1pm 3pm-7pm Friday 10am-1pm Saturday 10am-12pm Ansley Square, with Piedmont Chiropractic Health Center 1512 Piedmont Ave., NE Atlanta, GA 30324 Map 404-872-4476 Office Hours: Tuesday 10am-1pm 3pm-7pm Thursday 10am-1pm 3pm-7pm Friday 3pm-7pm Saturday . By Appointment only after 12:30pm You can reach me at Dunwoody Point at (770)395-9009, fax (770)671-1024. The Ansley Square office numbers are (404)872-4476 and fax (404)872-0204. My email address is DrCal@DrCalRobbins.com. Many of you have been keeping us busy with referrals of your family and friends. It always makes me feel good to know that you value our work and trust us enough to let us care for the people you care about. THANK YOU!!! Always know too that if you have a friend who just isn't sure if chiropractic care is right for them, you can have them call me and I will discuss their problem with them over the phone at no charge, and explain what chiropractic is all about and how it works and whether or not chiropractic care is appropriate for their condition. Or, if you'd like, we have these fantastic 6 minute tapes called "What Dr. Frankenstein Forgot" that do a great job of explaining with special sound effects how your body works and what chiropractic care is. (They sound GREAT in a car tape deck!!) Just come by and pick one up…they're FREE. I hope this letter has found you happy, healthy and stress-free. If we haven't seen you in a while, it might be time for you to give us a call, or just drop in for a "tune-up." This for most people is a great time of year to get a check up…the deductible is met and most policies don't allow you to carry over visits to the next year, so it's a "use it or lose it" deal for your benefits. (Remember this also for your yearly exams with your medical doctor.) Chiropractic care is great for maintaining your health and range of motion, as well as for reducing your stress level, and for getting to the cause of pain once it has started. Chiropractic helps you function as close to 100% of your potential as possible. Don't neglect your spine! You wouldn't think of letting your car go without periodic checkups and maintenance, so please be at least as good to your spine. It's not replaceable. Taking care of small problems early on prevents bigger ones later. Have a safe, enjoyable holiday season! Call me if you need me. Yours in health, Calvin Robbins, DC