Jane F. Gumnick, M.D., has opened a psychiatry practice in Chattanooga. She is now accepting patients for appointments. She will host an open house for the general public on Thursday, June 24, from 4-8 p.m.
Dr. Gumnick sees the need for more psychiatrists in the community. “The waiting time for a new patient to see a psychiatrist in the Chattanooga area can be as long as 6-8 weeks.”
Dr. Gumnick will collect her fee at the time of the appointment and she will give patients a claim form to file insurance if they would like. Dr. Gumnick notes that “when patients use insurance to pay for (any portion of) their medical care, they grant the insurance company access to their medical information.” She suggests that especially in the area of mental health many people would rather have the privacy of paying directly than opening their psychiatric records to the insurance companies.
Dr. Gumnick received her undergraduate degree in physics at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and her M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Tx. She completed residency in general adult psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine. She is Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry and has licenses to practice medicine in Tennessee and Georgia.
She has lived in Chattanooga for nine years. In that time she has worked primarily in the area of community mental health, including six years at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute. Most recently she treated outpatients at Joe Johnson Mental Health Center in Chattanooga.
One of Dr. Gumnick’s particular interests is working with patients who have both psychiatric and chronic or severe physical illnesses.
Her main services will be psychiatric evaluations and follow-up visits. In the evaluation she will get information from the patient to develop an idea of his/her problems, strengths and needs. She will then make recommendations for treatment, including further evaluation or testing, treatment with medication and/or referring him/her to a therapist in the community for psychotherapy. Followup visits will involve re-evaluating to see how the patient is responding to treatment and making changes in treatment as needed.
The practice is located in St. Elmo near the foot of the Incline Railway. The building is located at 3914 St. Elmo Ave.; Blacksmith Bistro & Grill, Pasha Coffee & Tea, and the Asher Love Studio & Gallery are on the ground floor of the building. Office suites are on the second floor and have a separate entrance at the corner of the building near the parking lot. Dr. Gumnick’s office is Suite A. Dr. Gumnick will offer flexibility in scheduling appointments, including some evening hours.
For more information or to make an appointment, call 443-9907.