Hudson couple offers new kind of family practice care

by Michele Collins

Acropolis Health LLC is a new kind of family practice in Hudson. Founded by husband-and-wife team Brad and Meighan Patton, the family practice center offers “direct primary care.” This means the physicians do not take medical insurance for payment, but rather provide care on a more personalized, unlimited care model for which patients pay a monthly fee.

“Our patients become members of our practice,” said Dr. Brad Patton. “They can reach us by phone, text, email. We are available to them on their schedule. And we provide a more personalized approach, where our visits average 30 to 60 minutes, rather than the traditional approach, where visits are sped up to accommodate more patients.”

Acropolis’s monthly fees range from $60 per month for patients ages 0 -22 to $75 for ages 23-39, $90 for ages 40-64 and $105 for those 65 and older. As a family practice provider, the Pattons hope to care for all members of a family.

Another difference between direct primary care and traditional models, is that there is low overhead for the providers.

“We don’t have any office staff. Just us. We make referral calls for our patients. We are the ones who answer the phone when you call,” said Dr. Meighan Patton.

In addition to the more personalized approach to care, Acropolis takes fewer patients.

“Hospital-based family practice offices might have 2,000 to 2,500 patients per doctor. We limit our number of patients to 400-600 patients per doctor,” Brad explained.

This means when you need an appointment you can get one, he said.

“We promise to see patients in 24-48 hours,” he added, “and we will definitely get back to them the same day.”

The Pattons have also negotiated lower rates with labs in the area to offer medical tests. Some of those test fees are included in the monthly fee. They do suggest, however, that their patients keep a high deductible health insurance plan for other healthcare needs.

“We suggest a high deductible plan that would help them if they had an accident, or a serious health diagnosis. That way they are protected in the event of one of those health emergencies,” Brad said.

But for the typical reasons a family visits their primary care doctor – flu, ear infections, sinus problems, sore throats – the Pattons are well-equipped to handle their care. 

Both doctors hold a DO, a medical degree with an emphasis on preventive medicine and comprehensive “whole-person” care. They graduated from Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Meighan completed her residency in family medicine with Mercy Health in Youngstown, and Brad completed his family medicine residency at University Hospitals.

The Pattons said their new practice, located at 72 Village Way, is the culmination of their dream. They opened the practice after working at a University Hospitals medical office in Twinsburg and with the hopes of having a smaller practice where they got to know their patients well. 

“We moved to Hudson a few years ago, and we loved it here.  And we wanted to be able to offer medical care right in our town. And we really researched the direct primary care model and realized that putting it in Hudson would be a perfect fit,” said Brad.

Brad noted that Acropolis is one of only three DPC models in Summit County, although there are some pediatric direct care offices. 

“This is a new care model, but something that is growing in the United States. We are excited to share information about our new practice with any potential new patients,” he said. ∞