Benefits of Local Healthcare [Ben Kleinjan]

Video Transcript

My name is Ben Kleinjan, I'm from Volga, South Dakota, and I'm an attorney.

When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?

I was diagnosed about 18 months ago with MS based on some symptoms that I had at that time, but I've had it for longer, probably. It's impossible to say how long.

What is multiple sclerosis?

MS stands for multiple sclerosis, which is a progressive, neurological disease. It involves the central nervous system, specifically the brain and the spinal cord, where the immune system attacks the central nervous system causing damage gradually over time. In my case, multiple sclerosis involves my spinal cord, and so I have weakness in my legs. I have less strength. I have strange sensations throughout my body, hot, cold, pain, other sorts of sensations that vary unpredictably. But primarily, it's weakness and tremors, it's problems with my legs.

How can infusions help treat multiple sclerosis?

Modern therapies for MS, they run the gamut but there is some antibody infusions that are now available that weren't available 5 or 10 years ago. And so if you want to aggressively treat multiple sclerosis, you have to do antibody infusions, which the point of those treatments is to slow down the progression of the disease or even stop it altogether, ideally, so that prognosis outlasts an expected lifespan.

How does Brookings Health coordinate with your neurologist?

Seamlessly. So, my neurologist works directly with the infusion center here at Brookings Health System. And I basically just get an alert on my phone that it's time for my infusion. This is when we want to do it. Does that work for you? And I just come in and do it. It's very simple, straightforward, easy.

How long does it take to receive your infusion?

So, the infusion for me started out as a four-hour process and then over time, it gets tailored down to a two-hour process. And so I come in through the ER door, check-in, I sit down, and I put my headphones on. And two hours later I leave. It's a wonderful experience. I've gotten the hang of it now. And it's every six months. Just like clockwork, and it basically means that MS is less a part of my life than it has been for patients in the past.

Why are these infusions important to you?

So, I have a 10-year-old daughter, and it's important for me to be there for her as much as I can. To go to her athletic events or shows or even to just go and volunteer and go talk to her class at school about my work. And as a younger professional, I need to focus on my health so I can keep doing that as long as I can because that's really what life's all about is being there for your family and for your friends and for your community.

Why is flexibility and local access so important?

Accessibility is huge for me personally. So, I also coincidentally happen to have a vision impairment which affects my ability to get around. I can't drive a car. So having a local option is critical for me. It means that I can get here myself with Brookings Area Transit instead of having to have my wife take the day off of work or figure out some other mode of transportation or spend the night in Rochester or anything like that. So, local access is critical, particularly in my case. And it's also important because of the timing aspect. So, as an attorney, I have a pretty full calendar. It is theoretically possible for me to go to court in the morning and go to my infusion in the afternoon. I haven't had it work out that way, but it's possible.

The other thing that's interesting about the infusion center here at Brookings Health System is that it's open 365 days a year. And so, I actually had one of my infusions on Labor Day and didn't have to take any sick leave, didn't have to take the day off at all. It was phenomenal. It was perfect. And, you know, it was just ideal. Another point that I'll make too about accessibility, as you know, weather is always a question mark in this part of the country, and being able to just go across town as opposed to driving an hour or more just to get my regular medication is a blessing.

What do you appreciate most about your care?

The most important thing that I appreciate is really the community aspect of it. So, I know these people, I know most of them from the administration all the way down to the people working in billing, the doctors, the nurses. I either grew up with them or their spouse or their family, or I just know them and they know me. It's such a personal way to get health care. You know, I don't wanna go somewhere where I feel like a line on a spreadsheet. Here they care about me. I care about them. You see 'em at the basketball game the next day. So, getting that kind of extra emotional attachment or the extra emotional connection to the people that you need because of MS is critical.

Why do you recommend Brookings Health System?

There's a couple of reasons. The first is that accessibility. It's just so much easier to get here than to go to Sioux Falls or Rochester. So, the accessibility component is first and foremost. Second is that community aspect. Look, this is Brookings Health System. It belongs to our community. This is our health system and we should invest in it. We should care about it. And the people here care about us and our community needs to continue with our health system.

Are you one of Brookings Health System's grateful patients who would like to give back to us? Learn more about how you can give back at brookingshealth.org/MyThanks.