Affordable, accessible health care for your whole family

Friday, January 17, 2020 ~ Updated 7:29 AM

Alliance Health & Dermatology doctors, from left to right: Dr. Lawrence Feigenbaum, Dermatology; Dr. Ramiro Icaza, Primary Care; Dr. Josh Gast, Internal Medicine; and Dr. James Hoffman, Pediatrics.

Imagine needing to see your doctor and getting in on the same day. Or being on time and waiting only 10 minutes in the waiting room before your appointment. Or being able to bring your child to see his or her pediatrician and then walking across the hall to have your own appointment with your dermatologist.

That's just what Jennifer Gast, owner of Alliance Health & Dermatology, imagined when she founded Alliance Health & Dermatology at 304 S. Mount Auburn Rd. in Cape Girardeau. As Cape's only independent multi-specialty provider in the area, family members of all ages can go to the practice to see a primary care physician and walk down the hallway to see a pediatrician, internal medicine physician and dermatologist. And it's an independent practice, so this can happen on the same day without the bureaucracy often experienced at hospitals.

For Gast, it's all about going back to the roots of health care.

"We want to establish those relationships," Gast says. "We're trying to get back to the way medical care used to be when the doctor really got to know their patient and it was a little slower-paced. Patients want the doctor to sit down and talk to them like a person, and so that was why I brought this all together."

The practice, which opened Nov. 4, 2019, accepts all major insurances, Medicare and cash pay. Walk-ins are welcome, or patients can call ahead to schedule an appointment without worrying they will have to wait for months to get in to see a doctor. Alliance Health & Dermatology also recently became providers for 180 Healthcare.

One key tenet of Alliance Health & Dermatology's practice is ensuring they spend quality time with each patient. Establishing relationships means listening to patients. Dr. Jim Hoffman, MD, Board Certified pediatrician at Alliance Health & Dermatology, has more than 35 years of medical experience at his private practice in Cape Girardeau and says this component is key to helping to heal patients.

"I want to listen to the patient because the patient is telling you the diagnosis," Dr. Hoffman says. "Listening to the patient, they will give you the diagnosis; I just have to be ready with the correct questions."

Dr. Hoffman also goes on medical mission trips to Honduras and Kenya each year, which are an important aspect to him of his medical practice.

Dr. Lawrence Feigenbaum, MD, Board Certified dermatologist at Alliance Health & Dermatology, is also excited to be a part of the practice. Formerly practicing dermatology in St. Louis for five years, he wanted to move to Cape Girardeau to provide affordable and accessible care to an area that is underserved by dermatologists. At Alliance Health & Dermatology, he provides medical dermatology, including skin cancer screenings, skin checks, acne treatments, rosacea, warts, skin cancer surgery and more, as well as cosmetic treatments such as Botox and fillers and any hair dermatology treatment on the market such as camouflage products, scalp pigmentation and hair transplant surgeries. Being from a family of farmers, he is passionate about serving the rural population of the Southeast Missouri region.

"I love seeing patients visibly get better," Dr. Lawrence Feigenbaum says. "I like the diagnostic aspect of dermatology, finding things that maybe other people didn't see. But it's also more than just getting people better. It's making sure they feel like they've been well taken care of, that they're in a good environment, that they're not rushed through."

While it is true doctors take time with each patient at Alliance Health & Dermatology, it is also true this does not mean long wait times spent in a waiting room before an appointment. Because the practice does not overschedule doctors, patients wait for only approximately 10 to 15 minutes before their appointment.

Gast is working to bring an allergist to the practice since there are no allergists in Cape Girardeau. She says as the community supports the practice and enables it to grow, she plans to add more specialists to the team in order to expand the health care options under Alliance Health & Dermatology's roof.

Whatever your family's health care needs, Alliance Health & Dermatology can be your same-day, one-stop shop.

"Our primary goal is to improve availability and access to quality medical care. To achieve this, we are offering urgent care-like availability to our patients," Dr. Feigenbaum says. "If you need to see us that day, then you can see us that day. No one should have to wait a week -- let alone several months -- to receive care. This same-day availability is nice to offer to the community."

Want to schedule an appointment?

The only independent, multi-specialty medical practice in Cape Girardeau, Alliance Health & Dermatology has a family medicine physician, internal medicine physician, pediatrician and dermatologist on staff. Call them at (573) 803-3331 to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome; the practice is located at 304 S. Mt. Auburn Rd. in Cape.