Many of the patients that Kelly Stankiewicz serves moved to Park City for a lifestyle change. As someone who recently uprooted her family to come here, she understands all too well.
Stankiewicz opened her own private dermatology practice, The Dermatology House, on Nov. 13, after deciding that her family needed a change of pace from the busy city life of Chicago. She treats patients with differing dermatology needs — from acne treatment to laser hair removal to skin cancer screening — and she said that so far, Park City residents seem excited for the all-in-one offering.
“I thought we would be sitting around just waiting for the phone to ring, but it’s been a pretty good demand,” she said.
Stankiewicz was born in Indiana and moved around the Midwest and East Coast for school and residency before finally landing in Chicago with her family. She worked as a dermatologist in a Chicago suburb, but quickly realized that she was becoming more specialized than she ever wanted to be, particularly in laser treatments.
“I wanted a place where I could be the dermatologist for the community,” she said. “I didn’t want to just do laser, I wanted to be able to take care of everything in the dermatology world, so I felt like the smaller town was a good fit.”
After she was robbed in her home in Chicago in February, the decision was almost made for her, she said. She had a friend who was from Park City whom she had visited in the past, and she knew she liked the family-friendly atmosphere. Plus, since Utah residents have high rates of skin cancer because of living in high altitude and participating in a lot of outdoor activities, she figured she would have no shortage of business.
“For all of those reasons, I took a huge risk and jumped in, and here I am,” she said.
Stankiewicz said so far, she has enjoyed her Park City patients because of their down-to-Earth, friendly personalities. Plus, they care about their health and beauty, so a dermatology visit is not a hard sell. She is excited to provide a full-service offering to her patients, as well as step into the cosmetic space, since she has a large selection of lasers with multiple capabilities.
Stankiewicz said she always had the desire to open her own practice, partly because of that variety of offerings, but also because she would not have to “jump through strange hoops to get basic things.”
At her last practice, several, tedious steps were required just to order new medical instruments. Now, she can order it on her own. There are no middlemen either, she said. Private equity firms and big organizations are not in the way of her patients getting what they need.
“The relationship between patients and doctors has been diluted in so many different ways,” she said.“Here, it’s just me.”
She said she is excited to get back to being a doctor, especially after months of finding a space, hiring a construction team, ordering her products and hiring.
“As soon as you see your first patient, you’re back in the swing of things,” she said.
With her five treatment rooms, Stankiewicz hopes to keep busy serving everyone she can, whatever their skincare needs.
“A lot of people I’ve met are confused about where to get their care from, and are going down to Salt Lake for their skin checks,” she said. “Now, I think people can stay up in Park City and get everything they need.”
