For more than 60 years, Edinger Medical Group has provided award-winning, personalized health care to patients throughout Orange County.
Edinger has grown from a small, two-doctor practice in 1961 to a thriving medical group with 10 physicians specializing in internal medicine and family medicine, three nurse practitioners, and a clinical staff dedicated to providing a comprehensive health care experience for patients at its Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach locations.
The practice has continued to grow through the challenges of HMOs, changing demographics and the advent of digital technology.
Yet, throughout incredible periods of growth, Edinger has maintained its 1960s mentality of the small family practice specializing in multigenerational care.
“When we started in the 1960s, we were caring for a lot of employees who worked at some of the larger companies such as Boeing, and they were having families,” says Lara McKenna, Executive Director of Business and Patient Relations at Edinger Medical Group. “As our community started to age, we’ve been, in some cases, serving four generations of family members here at Edinger because we had that longevity.”
Here are a few of the perks that Edinger patients enjoy:
One-stop shop
At Edinger, a majority of services have been kept in-house, making it convenient for patients. In-house services include appointment scheduling, insurance billing and referrals to specialists. X-rays, echocardiograms and other tests are done on-site as well.
Through the years, Edinger has added patient-care coordinators, senior-care coordinators and a diabetic-care coordinator to further enhance services for its patients.
Edinger’s care extends to hospital visits, with the physicians rotating the role of hospitalist each week. Once the patient is ready to be released, Edinger is right there, too, with a case manager to assist with the transition.
“It takes a community,” McKenna says about the Edinger culture. “It’s not just one doctor, one medical assistant, one nurse practitioner; it’s Edinger collaboratively, which means everyone’s got to be rowing the same way, providing care the same way.”
Senior specialists
Edinger employs dedicated staff, accessible with direct phone lines, who help patients manage their prescription drugs, labs, and other senior concerns. To help patients better understand their Medicare options, Edinger provides referrals to no-fee brokers who will do a side-by-side plan comparison.
Robin Whyte, an Independent Contracted Agent who specializes in Medicare plans, says she often receives calls from new clients saying, “I need a Medicare plan, and I don’t care which one. I only care that I can keep Edinger Medical Group.”
“That’s how strong the bond is,” Whyte said.
Edinger also keeps older adults on track with necessary vaccines — including annual flu shots and the COVID-19 vaccines.
“These vaccines just go with preventive care,” says Dr. Angela Whitaker, DO, a primary care and internal medicine physician with Edinger Medical Group. “It’s part of the reason annual physicals are so important, to have a good relationship with your physician. We can touch on all these things: cancer screenings, diet, exercise, vaccine status. All these things go together to help our patients stay healthy.”
Care options
For the majority of services, Edinger patients have the option of seeing a nurse practitioner.
A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) that has earned either a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
Nurse practitioners can assess, diagnose and treat acute and chronic illnesses. They also can order diagnostic tests such as X-rays, MRIs and blood tests, perform physical exams, prescribe medicines and develop individualized patient treatment plans.
Patients benefit from better access, more time with the nurse practitioner and greater flexibility in scheduling appointments. And they can feel comfortable knowing they will always receive as high a standard of care as they would from Edinger physicians.
Aging up, aging in
For individuals with children aging up to adult health care or parents aging into Medicare, trying to ensure their loved ones’ health care needs are met can be time-consuming and confusing. Because Edinger has been a leader in multigenerational care for six decades, its staff is trained to provide the expertise and support families need.
To help young adults transition to adult health care, Edinger meets them where they’re at, giving them the ability to schedule appointments in their preferred method of communication, online or by text.
Likewise, Edinger offers senior coordinators that can assist when transitioning an older parent to Medicare.
McKenna says planning ahead, doing research and having conversations with loved ones about their health care needs can take the fear and confusion out of the process — on both ends of the age spectrum.
Patients first
In 2021, Edinger was ranked the number one medical group by Orange County residents for the fifth consecutive year; and it was the highest-rated group for clinical quality of care when compared with 228 other medical groups throughout the state.
In addition, Edinger is one of the few medical groups in Orange County that has earned a five-star rating with Integrated Health Association (IHA) for the quality of care for Medicare Advantage patients.
What’s Edinger’s secret? It’s their patient-first attitude, McKenna says.
“People come back to us and continue with us because of the way we treat them,” she said. “We first treat you like a human and then get into why we’re treating you as a patient. I do think that’s why we’ve been so honored in the community and why so many people recognize our name.”
For more information about Edinger Medical Group or to schedule an appointment, call 714-965-2500 or visit edingermedicalgroup.com.