Access to Care When You Need It

One reason Bill and Cass Racine chose to retire in Durham was that they wanted easy access to good care for Bill’s ongoing health care needs, including cancer and heart issues.

Their real estate agent immediately recommended they consider Duke Signature Care. On the way to Durham from Chicago, Cass got sick. She called Duke Signature Care and got an appointment the next day with Anne Phelps, MD.

Cass says Phelps spent an hour and a half with her taking her medical history during their first visit. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “In the end, I said ‘this is amazing.’ I’ve never had a doctor listen to me so much.”

“Duke Signature Care is for a patient who wants a very close, personal physician who takes care of them,” Phelps says. “And I think that Duke Signature Care is there for someone who wants a doctor that is very involved in their medical care.”

Cass’s experience ensured the Racines that Duke Signature Care was the right choice for them. Bill made an appointment with another Signature Care doctor, John Paat, MD, and he spent nearly two hours discussing everything about Bill’s health.

“I'm basically buying time with my physician and to me that's worth it,” says Bill. “The time that Dr. Paat and all my doctors spend talking with me and about my health care – making recommendations and looking at the whole person instead of the parts – is marvelous. I couldn't be happier with the care I’ve received.”

Cass agrees. “Knowing that there is somebody a phone call away, it’s given me a great deal of comfort knowing that somebody was there, especially for Bill,” she says. “It’s making me more relaxed about his ongoing follow-up care.”