Thomas G. Serio, MD

I had just turned 50 in 2002, and Dr. Serio noticed a small "bump" in my annual physical EKG differing from the previous year's EKG record. Because I had a family history of cardiac issues, and even though I "apparently" wasn't personally having any indications of that, he referred me to a cardiac specialist for a stress test, based on my age and familyt history and his observation of the new EKG difference from the previous one. At Dr. Gredler's (the cardiac specialist) exam, the same small "bump" in the EKG portion of the stress test showed up. Dr. Gredler decided to look further - "maybe" there's a blockage that needs a stent? So on to diagnostic exam - the dye test revealed all 5 heart arteries were significantly occluded, and I had grown a network of capillaries around all SEVEN (2 of the 5 arteries were double-occluded) of the sclerotic lesions over my previous many years of playing team and individual sports, distance running and military service - which is why we concluded I was not having chest pains, etc. Immediate referral to a coronary bypass surgeon for a 5-bypasses surgical procedure. The "timely" fortunate catheter-test views revealed I was very soon likely to have a massive heart attack...which got repaired/corrected BEFORE I had heart muscle or valve damage, or worse. So, I am writing this in 2024... Dr. Serio (and Dr. Gredler and Dr. Saint) literally saved my life - and I am Grateful. Every. Day.

It recently dawned on me that, before TWO doctors made critical errors, I donated 2 four hour days a week helping out people I did not know. For years. Good News Outreach Food Pantry and Inmate Rehab. That I had lungs that were, medically speaking, 45 years younger than they are now, according to Dr. Gredler. That before CHP (Capital Health Plan) destroyed records, while I STILL had salvageable lungs at 12 months into this travesty, I had lungs that were approximately 24 years younger than what I have now. Living with the lungs of a "healthy 116 year old" is not living well. I am grateful for having discovered the truth, modern medicine and exercise that my end Stage IV COPD hasn't gotten much worse. I suspect that the consistent physically strenuous nature of my volunteer service helped too. I gave both Drs. Winchester and Gredler and CHP much more than ample opportunity to "come clean" and mediate my condition. They chose to basically tell me to screw off. "Well, sue us" was actually one of the responses a CHP rep stated to me. Finally, after yet another statute of limitations expired, Dr. Winchester's nurse, Delores Roberts CMA, told both me and a friend, Rebecca Leamon, that Winchester had indeed received the order to send me to a pulmonologist, over FOUR years earlier. She had done nothing other than be evasive, previously. That has been NOTARIZED in writing. A simple recognition of record I had been asking for, in writing and orally, from the moment I found out about it. Prior to, all I got was two false statements from CHP indicating that a TWO month regulation/statute of limitations applied; therefore they would not even look into it. It took TWENTY FOUR months before I even discovered malpractice had taken place. It took about another year before I was shocked to discover CHP had intentionally destroyed records to cover up the malpractice of TWO years earlier. Now Winchester's office manager, Pat, has removed me as a patient. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING in my life is close to being as materialistically sound as it was before this happened. I haven't had central air and heat since this happened. Both of which I was capable of repairing. Had done it before on a couple of occasions. In one succinct statement, I went from being the most organized person I knew, to the least. I am chronically fatigued beyond any solutions I know of. My present diagnosis of Severe Depression/Major Depressive Disorder came about before I found out about my injury, but after I was medically neglected. Considering the fact that I didn't have a low socioeconomic or education status, that's a quite normal comorbidity of approaching 80%. Obviously depression can't cause end Stage IV COPD. I need help and have had enormous pains in getting it. I'm 66 now, was just over 60 when the first of a SERIES of mistakes were made. Some that I was only able to discover a bit over a few months ago. Five years came and went on the 27th of July for the two major mistakes that took my breath away. Literally. Almost exactly 1 year later CHP destroyed records attempting to cover up those mistakes. It's been a medical, material and mental nightmare for the last three. To whom it may concern, I, Rebecca Leamon, do hereby testify through written, notarized statement the following: On the morning of 03/24/2022, I accompanied Lynn Schell to Dr. Winchester’s office to reissue a blanket HIPAA “opt-out” statement that they, as well as Dr. Gredler’s office, had recently “lost”. While there we spoke with Winchester’s nurse, Delores Roberts CMA, about an order Dr. Gredler had sent to Winchester, approximately 4 ½ years earlier. That being late July of 2017. The order from Gredler to Winchester’s office was for Winchester to schedule an appointment for Lynn to see a pulmonologist, as soon as possible. Ms. Roberts confirmed, orally, that indeed they had received the order, but had failed completely to act upon it. Ms. Roberts would not allow us to view the monitor nor print out a copy of a confirmation of it. When asked by Mr. Schell, as to why it had taken so many prior countless attempts for such an admission of negligence, since he had been asking for well over two years, Ms. Roberts responded in what I considered a derogatory and demeaning manner. Her response, “Well, you could have seen a pulmonologist on your own”, as well as, “You should have paid more attention to the warning labels on the cigarette packages”. Mr. Schell did not even know “pulmonology” was a medical discipline for another two years after they had failed to send him to a pulmonologist in mid-July of 2017. Not until he finally was sent to see one, almost two years later in mid-2019, when his diagnosis came back with end Stage IV COPD. According to records of Dr. Gredler, that I have seen, Mr. Schell lost 44 years of lung capacity in the following 22 months, after Winchester failed to respond to Gredler’s order. Thank you, Rebecca L

My husband has bronchiectasis & GERD. He is prone to bacterial infections in his lungs due to aspirating food into his lungs because the epiglottis doesn’t completely close over his wind pipe when he swallows food. A few weeks ago, he got one of these infections and I called the pulmonologist to request that he call in a prescription for antibiotics and prednisone (the usual treatment for this infection). I was told by the doctor’s nurse that this wasn’t an emergency and she made an appointment for my husband for the following week. She said the doctor wouldn’t call in the meds I requested until after my husband saw the doctor the next week. Two days later, I had to rush him to the ER in the middle of the night because he couldn’t get his breath. He was in the hospital for five days and never saw a pulmonologist. For two days the hospital doctors did tests on his heart (echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization) because they were sure his heart was the problem. They refused to listen to me or my husband when we tried to give them his history. Bottom line, he was discharged with the same meds he had been taking before the hospitalization.
A week later we followed up with his pulmonologist who was less than responsive and just referred my husband to three other specialists and said he didn’t know the root cause of the problem. This doctor also was quite short with me asking me why I dared to take up “5 minutes” of his nurse’s precious time asking what I thought were relevant questions.
Yesterday, when my husband started having symptoms of another bacterial infection, he called Dr. Serio and was given an appointment for this morning (not a week from now).
Today, my husband had the appointment with Dr. Serio who spent over an hour discussing his condition and truly listening to this saga we have recently experienced with other doctors snd the local hospital staff. Dr. Serio is the only doctor we have seen who actually reviewed all the meds Bill has been prescribed by various doctors to make sure there are no problems. Dr. Serio really “listened” and then gave Bill recommendations for actions as well as giving him a new prescription for his breathing problem. After one dose of the new med, his breathing problem (SOB, wheezing) cleared up in less than ten minutes. By the way, it was Dr. Serio who originally prescribed the nebulizer and albuterol inhaler. And, we have previously asked Dr. Serio to call in prescriptions for the antibiotics and prednisone when the pulmonologist wouldn’t even return our call for more than two days. So far the pulmonologist hasn’t really been of much benefit other than ordering tests and referring Bill to other specialists. Today, there is no doubt in my mind that every penny we pay for the privilege of having Dr. Serio as our primary care doctor is worth more than I can say. Because my husband has multiple health issues and has been seen by cardiologist, urologist, pulmonologist, speech therapist, gastroenterologist, Dr. Serio is the only doctor who looks at the big picture for Bill’s overall health. Quite frankly, I believe Bill gets the best results when he confers with Dr. Serio.

Over the past few years my husband has had to deal with a progressively debilitating back problem. Dr. Serio has been supportive in referring him to a local neurosurgeon who ultimately performed a laminectomy and fusion at L3-4 on 5/4/21. Prior to this surgery, my husband endured several years of “pain management” procedures and medications meant to alleviate pain. After his surgery, the neurosurgeon prescribed a combination of pain meds that frankly, weren’t doing the job. We went back to Dr. Serio about two weeks post surgery and discussed how the current pain regimen wasn’t working. Dr. Serio, knowing my husband’s history, came up with a new pain med strategy and within 24 hours my husband noticed significant relief from post surgical pain which continues to the present time.
Another significant benefit of having an MDVIP doctor, specifically, Dr. Serio, is that I can call his office and within minutes I can speak with his nurse, Mandy (who is also quite knowledgeable of my husband’s history) or Valerie, a medical tech in the office. We have been able to get in to see Dr. Serio, usually the same or next day. And, they have been truly responsive to calling in prescriptions in a timely manner.

In summary, I have recently come to the conclusion that it’s worth every penny we pay each year for the privilege of having Dr. Serio as our primary care physician. He is so knowledgeable about every issue we bring to him and he treats us as if we are his special and only patients.