Hello Kathy,
I was in your same position the end of last year. Mid September I was able to secured an appointment for the end of October with a NTM specialist at the University of Washington. Three days prior to that appointment, NJH called offering me a two week time slot late December. I had started the NJH application process also in September. I accepted the NJH appointment but was open to canceling should I feel comfortable just staying with UW after my upcoming visit. At my appointment I was very impressed with my UW doctor, his knowledge and experience treating NTM. I discussed my opportunity to go to NJH. We talked about the pros and cons and having to wait another 1 1/2 months for a treatment with NJH. In the end, my UW doctor recommended I wait and go to NJH. Not that he wasn’t confident he could treat my infection but because NJH is, in his words, “one of the best worldwide”. I might add, I have cavitary MAC. The UW doctor was also very willing to oversee my treatment on my return. You will need your local specialist to prescribe the medications as NJH cannot do so for their out of state patients.
As it turns out, NJH prescribed the same treatment program as my UW doctor had predicted. However, what I received from NJH that I may have never received locally, is testing on why I contacted this infection, information on how to manage my infection like how to sleep, how to eat and drink to prevent my silent reflux (silent because I do not feel it and didn’t know I had it), Airway clearances techniques, nutrition guidance, testing of vision, hearing, swallowing, and more but most importantly in my case was a sweat test for Cystic Fibrosis.
I am glad I went to NJH for all these reasons but also to be a NJH patient for follow ups and in the loop for new treatments and medications.
Long story short, NJH will need you to have a local specialist to manage your care and prescribe the medications. You can use both NJH and a local ID Doctor, if you want.