Business

Following sudden closure, Wading River doc opens new private practice

Dr. Robert Bernard in his office on Monday. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)
Dr. Robert Bernard in his office on Monday. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

About a month after his Wading River office was unexpectedly shut down by parent company Ageless 360, longtime local doctor Robert Bernard has opened a new private practice down the street.

Located just east of his old office, Wading River Primary Care opened three weeks ago at 5972 Route 25A. Since then, Dr. Bernard said the office has been reaching out to inform patients of the move — otherwise it’s been back to business as usual.

“Everything is working out well,” he said Monday. “Patients are appreciative.”

Ageless 360, which purchased Dr. Bernard’s practice about a year ago and allowed Dr. Bernard to stay on as an employee, closed the office on New Year’s Day without notice, an attorney for Dr. Bernard said.

Ageless 360’s attorney has said they decided to close the practice after encountering several “business related issues” over the past year, adding that much of the concern was Dr. Bernard’s unwillingness to share patients’ medical records with the company.

“There was a lot of misinformation going on,” Dr. Bernard said. “I have all the most current medical records,”

Dr. Bernard said he intends to maintain ownership of his new practice.

“It is my practice and I will dictate policy,” he said. “The past year was a very unfortunate situation and it was all out of my control. There will not be a reoccurrence of that past.”

Dr. Bernard declined to comment on whether he would take legal action against Ageless 360, stating only “his focus is on medicine.”

Attorneys for Dr. Bernard and Ageless 360 couldn’t immediately be reached this week for comment.

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