Kelly Arenz, DO, is program director of the Family Medicine Residency at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston. With more than a decade of medical experience, and board certifications in Addiction Medicine as well as Family Practice and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, she is leading the effort to provide high-quality care in Livingston County. She recently spoke with The Livingston Post to discuss the hospital’s residency program, how they are addressing social needs in the community, and the importance of having a primary care physician.
Q: What led you to the medical profession, and specifically, family medicine and addiction medicine?
Dr. Arenz: My first passion was family medicine, which is what I specialized and trained in. Family medicine doctors are primary care physicians trained to meet the diverse health needs of families and children. There is an incredible amount of overlap in family medicine and chronic disease management that gets amplified when a patient is suffering from addiction. When the opportunity came up to lead the family medicine residency program, I was excited to be able to educate and train our resident physicians. I have a passion for teaching and enjoy mentoring future family medicine physicians. Getting to see them grow and develop is very rewarding.
Q: Who are your patients, and what are you treating them for?
Dr. Arenz: We treat patients of all ages, from infants to geriatrics, including pregnant women. Additionally, we provide access to breastfeeding medicine, sports medicine, addiction medicine, procedural care and post-hospitalization care.
This time of year is cold and flu season, so we are seeing a lot of that. We also see a lot of patients living with chronic disease, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity and addiction disorders, just to name a few.
Q: With your practice having both faculty and resident physicians, how do they work together to ensure the patient is getting the best care possible?
Dr. Arenz: It’s definitely a collaborative and team-based approach to care. My job as the program director is to ensure the residents are providing safe, high-quality care at all times. Currently, we have 19 resident physicians who are each with us for three years of training.
Q: What makes receiving care and treatment from the Livingston Family Medicine Center different from a traditional primary care office?
Dr. Arenz: When patients are seen by a resident, we like to say, “the patients are getting at least two opinions for the price of one.” Our residents are in training, so they have that immediate supervision and are up-to-date with current medical guidelines. Another thing that makes us unique is we have immediate access to things like lab and radiology, so it allows us to be that one-stop shop for patients to receive the full spectrum of care.
Q: How do you assist people in the community who don’t have immediate access to healthcare?
Dr. Arenz: We partner with the Livingston Essential Transportation Service (LETS) for patients who don’t have access to transportation to get picked up from their home and dropped off at our facility. Along with virtual appointments, we also have a service where every Wednesday, a resident physician and a faculty supervisor visit the home of patients. We are truly committed to addressing the social needs of our patients and seek to eliminate barriers to care when we can.
Q: What days and times are you open? And where are you located?
Dr. Arenz: We are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays. Our address is 7575 Grand River Drive, Suite 210, in Brighton. Members of the community can schedule an appointment with us by calling (810) 844-7950.
