“Dr. Gustavson is super nice. His voice is soft and it just makes you feel comfortable. I felt good when I left his office – knowing I was going to be okay.” – Betty Osborne
KVH has welcomed a new Neurologist to our specialty team. His name is Dr. Andrew R. Gustavson. Dr. Gustavson comes to KVH with expert training in both Neurology and Psychiatry. He has worked all over the world, but his desire was to get back to practicing Neurology here in Eastern Washington.
Dr. Gustavson desires to treat patients with compassion and he works with them to build long-lasting relationships. The patient and their family are all participants in assuring the very best care. When someone has a neurologic disease, this may require care over the course of many years. The Doctor, the patient and their family are all essential to providing the best care for an individual. Dr. Gustavson enjoys this part of his practice and loves working with family members of his patients – either remotely or here in Kittitas County.
We received some recent comments from a patient after she came to see Dr. Gustafson for the first time in late 2020:
The patient, Betty, has had Parkinson’s disease for many years. Prior to Dr. Gustavson’s arrival at KVH, Betty had to go to Seattle to be seen by a Neurologist. This would mean her Daughter would need to take an entire day off to drive her to these appointments in Seattle. Betty wasn’t a fan of going to Seattle for her care. When Betty found out a Neurologist was coming to Ellensburg – she was ready to make an appointment right away.
“When I went to see Dr. Gustavson he checked me really good. He watched me walk and had me do some exercises to hold my hands out straight and fall backwards. I didn’t think I could do it, but he reassured me saying “We are here to catch you”. He is very nice. He speaks softly and makes you feel comfortable. He was very thorough and gave me a good checkup. I told him I would be out of medicine in January, so he said – “just come back and see me in three months and I will order and manage your medication for you.
You are doing well on this medicine.”
Dr. Gustavson says that if a patient has Parkinson’s disease we usually manage their care with medications. We can use surgical approaches if the disease gets more severe. I am seeing many Parkinson’s Disease patients since we opened my practice in Ellensburg, up to 50% of my patients on some days. The care of a person with Parkinson’s disease has to be individualized because you need to set up a medication regimen that’s is built specifically to help them with the issues they are having. It’s also a disease that progresses or changes over time – so we need to teach them and their caregivers how to adjust their medications themselves based on their symptoms.
Dr. Gustavson fell in love with Neurology as a college student. He became interested in how the brain works and this remains a great mystery. This means that we rely heavily on the patient history and physical exam to find the answers. It’s a very personal type of medicine. We have to work hard, with the right diagnosis, to tailor treatment to each individual person, according to their needs.
KVH is honored to have Dr. Gustavson on our team and to be able to provide this special care in the local community. Betty and many others are happy to have expert neurology care much closer to home.