By Sarah Mansheim
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, each year in the U.S., nearly five million people are treated for skin cancer, and each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
Krystal Tawney, a dermatology nurse practitioner, wants to help keep people in the Greenbrier Valley from being part of those statistics. She has opened a new practice, Pinnacle Dermatology, at the new Jefferson Centre office and storefront complex near WalMart on Rt. 219 in Lewisburg.
The dermatology office opened on December 15, and Tawney hopes that her office will be one of the stops people make for their health care needs.
“Every year-to-two-years max, people need to come in and have their skin checked,” she says, noting that people of all ages can be affected by melanoma.
Tawney’s office will feature full skin examinations and in-house biopsies using the most up-to-date technology on the market.
“We try to make this the most efficient thing we can,” says Tawney. People who have a biopsy done at Pinnacle Dermatology can expect to get their results in 72 hours. Then, depending on the results, Tawney will guide her patients to their next step. Those with cancerous melanoma will be referred to a surgeon.
Pinnacle Dermatology also offers cosmetic procedures, but Tawney is quick to point out that her passion is cancer prevention.
“To look your best, you have to be healthy,” she says. Therefore, Pinnacle Dermatology is going to focus on what a holistic approach to skin health and beauty including dietary changes and sunless tanning and smoking cessation.
Not that there won’t be lasers. Pinnacle Dermatology will offer state-of-the-art laser treatments for acne, scars, stretch marks, tattoo removal and more. Other medical procedures include the treatment of acne, rosacea, sun spots, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
Pinnacle Dermatology also retails Supergoop!, a line of sunscreen for the face and body for children and adults. They will also feature Obagi skin care products and sunless tanner.
“Our products are there to help our clients get the most out of their treatment,” says Tawney.
Tawney expects to be busy, and hopes to employ another medical practitioner within the walls of 3,400 square feet office; and she encourages everyone of all ages to come in for a consultation.
“I have a passion for skin,” she says. “My grandmother died of melanoma.”
Tawney says she had acne as a teenager, and would love to help other teens and adults get through that difficult time. And, she’s happy to be doing it in the Greenbrier Valley.
Tawney and her husband, Kris Tawney, recently moved to Lewisburg from Morgantown, drawn, as many are, to Lewisburg’s charms.
“We decided to open a business where we wanted to live, and we love Greenbrier County. We wanted that small town feeling,” says Krystal Tawney.
They moved here with the help of Krystal Tawney’s friend Shannon Warren, a real estate agent with Country Roads Realty. The two ladies met through the Leadership West Virginia organization.
Krystal and Kris Tawney discovered Jefferson Centre through Warren’s help, and were able to design and build an office that would suit the needs of a dermatology practice. Krystal Tawney says the space flows in such as way that makes it easy for the staff and the patients to move through the clinic, and the lobby area has been thoughtfully designed to offer patients privacy as they sign in.
Now that the office has been open for two weeks, Tawney says she is thrilled Pinnacle Dermatology is finally open.
“We’re starting slow,” she says, “and after the holidays we’re going to really ramp things up.”
Pinnacle Dermatology is located in Jefferson Centre on Rt. 219 just north of WalMart. Their phone number is 304-645-3435.
