Meet Brian Gantwerker of The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles in Santa Monica

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Gantwerker.

Brian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My wife and I originally moved to Los Angeles in 2010 for a job in the north San Fernando Valley. It was a year-long contract. 6 months in, I knew it was not right for me. My wife Halina and I sat down and had a very frank conversation about next steps.

Halina used to run an oral surgery practice in Santa Monica. Somehow, I was insane enough to think we could do this. I asked of her something that I knew would be asking of her an incredible task. She and I decided to open up a solo neurosurgical practice in the West Side of Los Angeles. We kept our valued contacts and referring doctors in the Valley, but decided to wade into crowded waters. We had virtually no office, we had no staff, and no idea what we were doing.

We were answering faxes until 11:30 at night or even midnight in some cases. All the while, my wife and I were trying to have a child. We went through several temporary offices, all the while trying to convince our patients and referring docs we were not carpetbaggers. We did finally, in 2012. Our son Alex ushered in a crazed frenzy of growth – and we opened up a permanent office in Santa Monica. Now, five years later, and almost 3,000 patients later we are still growing.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We started with 30 patients, and virtually no prior knowledge of how to run a medical office. I bought a book, figured out what licenses to get and how to get various permits, and other bureaucratic muckety-muck done. Halina somehow figured out how to negotiate insurance gambits, how to book surgeries, and how to give A-class treatment to EVERYONE. I printed up a bunch of forms, got a line of credit, found a billing company, negotiated a rate and started taking call at my new primary hospital for free.

My wife and I had multiple rounds of IVF and finally she got pregnant. While she was in her third trimester, we had a serious struggle with our temporary office-mates and things were only getting busier. On the day of a very important meeting, I got a call that she had been in a car accident. Dashing out of the meeting I picked my wife up at the hospital and took her home. We had just started to train 2 new office workers to take over what she herself had been doing. On what was supposed to be their day of training, my wife went into pre-term labor as a result of the accident. Our son Alexander came into the world in October of 2012.

Halina took a role as off-site office manager but became a mother first.

My old practice did not make things easy and certainly there were other forces not cooperating. No one likes competition. I was admittedly full of hubris, and I learned a lot from my initial mistakes. We both learned. It has taken some iterations of staff, but we have grown from that initial 30 to almost 3, o00 patients in our practice.

The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles is a surgical practice that focuses on spinal disorders, concussion diagnoses and treatment, and on patient outcomes. We are known for making our patients feel welcome and at ease immediately. We treat our patients like family members and focus on keeping them comfortable and reassured. We meet expectations and oftentimes exceed them.

We are proud of our ability to stay true to our mission of remaining patient-centric. What makes us unique is that our dedication to our patients is paramount and everything else comes second.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Besides my son being born, the proudest moment came in 2014, when I achieved my board certification in Neurological Surgery. It marked the completion of a journey that begin in 2001.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2811 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 840,
  Santa Monica, CA 90403
• Website: www.craniospinalcenter.com
• Phone: 310-694-8300
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @cscla
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cscla
• Twitter: @cscla
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brian-r-gantwerker-md-santa-monica

Image Credit:
Nicole Fine

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