Atrium Health welcomes a new doctor to the Perspective Health & Wellness team. Dr. Richard Lopez will lend his medical background in both Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine to provide expert care for patients within the Executive Health Program. Most recently, Dr. Lopez worked with the Northwell Health Orthopedic Institute, specializing in sports medicine. There, he worked mostly as a nonoperative sports medicine doctor, treating a variety of ailments including overuse injuries, aches and sprains and arthritis as well as conducting pre-operative evaluations and recovery care. His background and interest in primary care, however, sparked his eventual move to Atrium Health Perspective Health & Wellness.
“With this new role, I’m returning to my core, which is internal medicine,” said Dr. Lopez. “In my previous work, my work was more specialized. I developed relationships with patients, and they would tell me other non-related medical things that were concerning to them. It upset me that I couldn't necessarily do all I could to help them, despite wanting to. Going back to an internal medicine/primary care model is reassuring to me knowing that I now have the opportunity to treat the whole patient and the whole person.”
Benefits for Executives, Employers and the Community
The Executive Health Program at Perspective Health & Wellness affords executives the ultimate experience in personalized care and convenience, optimizing the precious time they do have amid a fast paced and stressful schedule.
“With this subgroup of patients, they may not have time to seek health care or see all of their providers regularly,” said Dr. Lopez. “This program offers them that opportunity in a very comprehensive way. We’re giving them a gateway to come out of their stressful environment and find ways to optimize their work life and personal life to find a healthy balance.”
For employers, executive health programs represent a major differentiating factor as part of overall workplace benefits and incentives. Companies are increasingly realizing this and investing their time and money while partnering with Atrium Health to provide these services. This personalized, comprehensive level of care and convenience can offer a huge selling point for attracting and retaining top executive talent. The deep level of preventative care can not only keep executives healthy, but also prevents inflated costs related to insurance claims and productivity throughout an executive’s long tenure.
“One of the things we do in preventative care for executives, for example, is a coronary calcium score – or a cardiac CAT scan – to look at your calcium score,” explained Dr. Lopez. “For people who are, let’s say, a middle risk of developing heart disease, we can look at things like ‘plaque buildup’ and determine if the amount is likely going to be a problem. From there, we can decide if that person should then start seeing a cardiologist more regularly to prevent a stressful day in the office from becoming a true heart attack situation that puts that executive out of commission. That is a worse-case scenario, so the prevention aspect of this level of care is extremely valuable.”
The Executive Health Program at Perspective Health & Wellness is provided by Atrium Health, the region’s leading health system, so employers and patients can have peace of mind knowing providers are connected to nationally renowned expertise and world-class specialists.
Executive leadership often sets the tone for culture and the general well-being, both physically and mentally, at a company. By investing in the health of top executives, employers send a strong message about their commitment to overall health and wellness.
“For any prospective patient of the Atrium Health Perspective Health & Wellness Executive Health Program, don’t think of this as a doctor’s visit with Dr. Lopez,” said Dr. Lopez. “This is a half day of your time that's dedicated to your life, your health, your wellness and your happiness, where you could potentially change the way you think, and change the way you live. By prioritizing your health in this way, you could set a strong example and even have a trickle-down effect on the health and wellness of your employees and members of the community.”
About Atrium Health Executive Health Program
The Executive Health program is designed to keep key executives within your organization healthy and working at maximum efficiency. Provided by Atrium Health’s Perspective Health & Wellness, the program offers best-in-class services tailored to each executive’s schedule and personal needs. While the Executive Physical offers a robust, all-inclusive health exam and review, the Executive Concierge program delivers highly specialized, year-round care customized to your executives. Executive Health is more than a unique level of care; it is an investment in your executives and ultimately your organization.
For employers seeking more information about the Executive Health Program, contact ExecutiveHealthPHW@AtriumHealth.org.
